Biaxial tensile behaviour of composite reinforcements

The deformability of a composite reinforcement depends mainly on its internal structure and has a relevant influence on the quality of a composite component. Among the mechanical features of a composite reinforcement, the biaxial behavior plays an important role on its capability to drape a complex shape. This chapter details some of the methodologies employed to measure and to predict the tensile biaxial behavior of textile composite reinforcements. The features of some experimental biaxial loading devices are described, as well as some experimental results. A predictive analytical model for plain weave reinforcements is briefly described and compared to experimental data. Finally, the main characteristics of numerical models dedicated to meso-scale simulations, based on the finite element method, are highlighted.