Numerical modelling of the mechanical behaviour of tetraxial technical textiles

Abstract

The present study aims to numerically predict the mechanical behaviour at the meso-scale of a multiaxial textile, named tetraxial. It has warp, weft, and two diagonal yarns oriented at symmetrical angles (typically ± 45°) interlaced in the same weaving process. The flexibility of the manufacturing technique could allow for hybrid distribution of the yarn materials and, as a consequence, a wide range of mechanical behaviour. For an accurate modelling, a hyperelastic constitutive model of the fibrous yarns was considered to account for the peculiar nonlinear behaviour of the textile. The modelling of the tetraxial representative volume allowed predicting the mechanical response for uniaxial and biaxial tensile tests. The comparison of FE analyses with the experimental measurements highlights the accuracy of the numerical model to predict the nonlinear behaviour of the tetraxial textiles.