Influence of voids presence on mechanical properties of 3D textile composites

Abstract

Presence of the voids in final part made of textile reinforced materials is one of the main process-induced type of defects, which is governed by a set of manufacturing parameters. This work focuses on investigating the effect of voids on mechanical properties of the 3D textile reinforced composites. This study includes the following steps: manufacturing of composite plates with RTM process, mechanical analysis, and multi-scale material modeling. The internal structure has been characterized from μCT scans and scanning electron microscopy observations. The influences of micro- (intra-yarn) and meso- (inter-yarn) porosities are discussed. Anisotropic damage model has been implemented into Fast Fourier Transform solver for simulation of nonlinear response of the 3D interlock composite. Analysis includes the averaged stresses in different material phases (warp, weft, and matrix) and local concentration of stress/damage field near voids.