Numerical modelling of 2D woven composites by the Projective Element Method

Abstract

A novel method is presented in this paper to allow for realistic creation of 2D woven composite fabric models considering deformation modes incurred during manufacturing. The proposed computational framework is named as the Projective Element Method (PEM). The PEM provides a new strategy for the woven composite modelling, in which a representative numerical model for woven composites is built based on the well-distributed projective lines along the out-of-plane direction of the composites structure. The developed model is simplified yet accurate particularly for the 2D woven composites and can perform the compaction simulations in seconds and the results obtained are comparable to the finite element simulation which requires hours or even days of computation. The comparison between the PEM results and the real material is also presented with the micro-images obtained experimentally, thus further validating the proposed method.