Multiscale analysis method for profiled composite structures considering the forming process

The forming process often results in a highly heterogeneous mesoscale structure within composite structures, leading to enormous changes in mechanical properties. This complexity poses a significant challenge for accurately evaluating their mechanical behavior. In this paper, a concurrent multiscale analysis method considering the forming process is proposed to accurately analyze the mechanical behavior of profiled composite structures. The change in the internal mesoscale structure of the profiled composite structures is studied by simulating the preforming process of the composite woven fabric. A feature reduction scheme is proposed to reduce the multiscale model of profiled composite structures based on shear angle gamma (selected as feature of the U-shape composite structure) and each feature region is coupled with a corresponding mesoscale model. Subsequently, a concurrent multiscale simulation method, based on self-consistent clustering analysis, is developed to model the mechanical behavior of profiled composite structures. The proposed method for simulation of profiled composite structures is validated against experimental data from literature covering various shear deformations. Finally, the progressive failure analysis of the U-shape composite structure (an example) is implemented to reveal its failure mechanism at both macroscale and mesoscale scales. The proposed multiscale analysis method can be applied to the structural design and the optimization of composite forming process.