Non-orthogonal constitutive model for woven composites incorporating tensile effect on shear behavior

Abstract

The shear behavior of woven fabric composites in the past has been mainly assumed to be independent on the tensions in yarns and therefore, the tension-shear behavior can be decoupled in the constitutive model. Recent experimental results showed that the in-plane tension can affect the shear force. In this work, the non-orthogonal constitutive model for woven composites has been further modified and improved to include the tensile effect on the shear behavior. From the meso-scale FEM simulations of unit cells for shear tests with bi-axial tensions, the material properties were obtained and implemented into the revised material model. The new phenomenological material model was then used to predict the material behavior of woven composites subjected to bi-axial tensile tests and shear tests different from what were used before. The predicted behavior was further compared with the meso-scale analysis results.