The effect of prefabricated crack on the tear properties of plain weave fabric with 230 nylon yarns plain braided per square centimeter and composite thermoplastic polyurethane(Nylon-230T/TPU) was investigated by numerical simulation and tearing test. The effects of crack length, crack angle and crack location on the tear strength of the fabric skin were studied. The strain field of the fabric skin during tearing test process was measured by digital image correlation (DIC) technique. The variation of strain field during tearing process was obtained. The crack propagation process and path of prefabricated cracked Nylon-230T/TPU fabric skin were numerically simulated by using extended finite element method (XFEM), cohesive zone model (CZM) and virtual crack closure technique (VCCT). The validity of numerical simulation is verified by comparison with the experimental results. The results show that the tear strength of Nylon-230T/TPU fabric skin is closely related to the crack length, the crack angle and the crack location. The strain field distribution of Nylon-230T/TPU specimen is greatly affected by the presence of cracks. The numerical simulation results are well agreed with the experimental results.
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