Micro and meso modeling of woven composites: Transverse cracking kinetics and homogenization

The evolution of damage in a woven composite results from the interaction and competition among several elementary mechanisms, which are greatly influenced by the microstructure. Thus, in order to develop a model as close as possible to the underlying physics, it is necessary to observe, understand and describe each mechanism on the most appropriate scale. This work extends the micro-meso bridge, previously developed for laminates made of unidirectional plies, to woven composites. Starting from a discrete microscopic description of transverse cracks at the ply's scale, the cracks kinetics is simulated and homogenization relations are introduced to develop a mesoscale model. In woven composites, the additional scale of the yarn is present, thus a detailed and accurate three-dimensional micromodel was constructed and exploited for the micro-meso bridge. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.