MICROMECHANICAL ANALYSIS AND EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION OF THE PROPERTY OF WOVEN COMPOSITE MATERIALS

A prediction of the elastic property and strength of woven composites was established. Corresponding experimental studies were completed. The effects of various structural and geometrical parameters on the properties of woven composites were studied systematically. Fabric micro-structural parameter determination for optimizing the elastic properties of woven composites was provided. A code with user-friendly interface has been developed to provide an efficient calculation tool in selecting the best fabric reinforcement for structural composites. Tensile and compressive strength after impact, residual fatigue strength and fatigue life were evaluated experimentally. A finite element analysis coupled with failure criteria was developed to predict the impact threshold energy of the composites. Equations of predicting the fatigue life for woven composites were provided. Comparison of experimental data with the prediction results shows good agreement, thus confirming the usefulness of the predictions.