Determination of the mechanical properties of textile-reinforced composites taking into account textile forming parameters

Textile manufacturing and textile processing parameters have a significant influence on the local fibre architecture of a textile-reinforced composite part. Consequently, local quantities like mechanical or permeability properties can vary significantly. Numerical approaches to predict the influence of the manufacturing processes on the local orientation exist, but are often only used to prevent problems during the manufacturing process itself and not for evaluation of the mechanical performance of the part. This paper presents a possible solution for this problem. A multi-level simulation approach is used to predict local mechanical properties of orthogonal and sheared textile-reinforced composites. The results of draping simulations are then combined with the predicted mechanical properties using an interpolation technique. The proposed method is illustrated with a numerical case study.