Numerical prediction of the mechanical properties of Woven Fabric Composites

The paper presents a numerical procedure to evaluate the mechanical properties of woven fabric composites and the validation of the method against experiments. The numerical approach is founded on the main assumption of periodic distribution of the reinforcements in the composite and on two levels of homogenization. The first homogenization concerns the warp and weft yarns while the second regards a representative volume of the woven fabric laminate with homogenized yarns. An experimental investigation and the relevant numerical predictions were performed on various woven fabric laminates including four types of fibers: carbon, glass, aramid and polyvinylalcohol (PVA).