Refine reconstruction and verification of meso-scale modeling of three-dimensional five-directional braided composites from X-ray computed tomography data

Abstract

This paper proposes a statistical approach to generate the refine meso-scale representative volume element of three-dimensional (3D) five-directional braided composites considering the fabric compaction and the axial yarn torsion. The method firstly extracts the regions of interest to obtain the reference model (R-model) from the X-ray computed tomography (Micro-CT) data. Then, the geometric parameters of the collected yarns of R-model are statistically analyzed based on the scanning tomograms. Consequently, the meso-scale statistical model (S-model) are reconstructed after being fitted with the appropriate function. Moreover, for the validation of S-model, the traditional ideal model (I-model) and the experimental tests are considered. The results show that the proposed S-model is capable of accurately presenting the effects of the fabric compaction and yarn torsion on the mechanical behaviors of 3D braided composites, validated by the elastic constants and the damaged modes.