Warp and weft direction thermo-mechanical responses of 2.5D shallow straight-link-shaped woven composites at room and elevated temperatures

Abstract

High temperature mechanical properties of 3D woven composites play a significant role in applying composites in high-performance aero-engines. This paper first investigates the warp and weft direction thermo-mechanical behaviors of high-temperature resistant resin matrix 2.5D shallow straight-link-shaped woven composites (2.5DSWCs) at 20, 180 and 240 °C based on experimental and numerical methods. Experimental results showed that the warp and weft direction moduli and strengths of 2.5DSWCs were much higher than those of 2.5D shallow curve-link-shaped woven composites at the same temperature. The warp and weft stress–strain curves totally remained linear up to a sudden fiber-dominated brittle fracture, despite at 240 °C. According to the experimental results, a thermo-mechanical prediction model taking the effects of interface and temperature into account was developed to predict the mechanical properties and damage propagation behaviors of 2.5DSWCs. The prediction errors of moduli and strengths at different temperatures were within 20%. The damage initiation and extension processed as a function of strain are predicted. The predicted results indicate that the proposed model can provide a suitable reference to the numerical study of the thermo-mechanical issues in this category textile composites at room and elevated temperatures.