• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.436-449
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• 2017

In this paper, the damage and failure behavior of triaxially braided textile composites was studied using progressive failure analysis. The analysis was performed at both micro and meso-scales through iterative cycles. Stress based failure criteria were used to define the failure states at both micro- and meso-scale models. The stress-strain curve under uniaxial tensile loading was drawn based on the load-displacement curve from the progressive failure analysis and compared to those by test and computational results from reference for verification. Then, the detailed failure initiation and propagation was studied using the verified model for both tensile and compression loading cases. The failure modes of each part of the model were assessed at different stages of failure. Effect of ply stacking and number of unit cells considered were then investigated using the resulting stress-strain curves and damage patterns. Finally, the effect of matrix plasticity was examined for the compressive failure behavior of the same model using elastic, elastic - perfectly plastic and multi-linear elastic-plastic matrix properties.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.222-235
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• 2017

In this study, finite element modeling was used to predict the material properties of tri-axially braided textile composite. The model was made based on an experimental test specimen which was also used to compare the final results. The full interlacing of tows was geometrically modelled, from which repeating parts that make up the whole braid called unit cells were identified based on the geometric and mechanical property periodicity. In order to simulate the repeating nature of the unit cell, periodic boundary conditions were applied. For validation of the method, a reference model was analyzed for which a very good agreement was obtained. Material property calculation was done by simulating uniaxial and pure shear tests on the unit cell. The comparison of these results with that of experimental test results showed an excellent agreement. Finally, parametric study on the effect of number of plies, stacking type (symmetric/anti-symmetric) and stacking phase shift was conducted.