Modelling for predicting the mechanical properties of textile composites - A review

Textile composite is one of the important materials used in industry and is made from textile substrates embedded in the matrices of different materials (see ref.(1)). However, due to its complicated microstructure, understanding of mechanical properties of textile composite materials is still in its infant stage (see refs(2,3)). Recently, many researchers have contributed to develop finite element analysis (FEA) and theoretical analysis models for predicting mechanical properties of textile composites, and to study the variation trends of mechanical property with major architectural parameters. In this paper, a review of recent developments and results in predicting mechanical properties of textile composites using finite element analysis and theoretical analysis methods, focusing on elastic behaviour for woven fabric composites, is presented. The predictive capability of various models, including earlier one-dimensional (1D) 'mosaic model' and more recent three-dimensional (3D) models, are discussed in this review. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Limited.