Modeling of deformation processes in structure of flexible woven composites

Flexible woven composites are classified as high-tech innovative materials. Due to the combination of various components of the filler and reinforcement elements, such materials are used in construction, in the defense industry, in shipbuilding and aircraft construction, etc. In the domestic literature, insufficient attention is paid to woven composites that change their geometric structure of the reinforcing layer during deformation. This paper presents an analysis of the previously proposed complex approach to modeling the behavior of flexible woven composites under static uniaxial tension for further generalization of the approach to biaxial tension. The work is aimed at qualitative and quantitative description of mechanical deformation processes occurring in the structure of the studied materials under tension, which include straightening the strands of the reinforcing layer and increasing the value of mutual pressure of the cross-lying reinforcement strands. At the beginning of the deformation process, the straightening of the threads and the increase in mutual pressure of the threads are most intense. With the increase in the level of load, the change of these parameters slows down. For example, the bending of the reinforcement strands goes into the Central tension, and the value of the load from the mutual pressure is no longer increased (tends to constant). To simulate the described processes, the basic geometrical and mechanical parameters of the material affecting the process of forming are introduced, the necessary terminology and description of the characteristics are given. Due to the high geometric nonlinearity of the all processes described in the increments, as in the initial load values there is a significant deformation of the reinforcing layer. For the quantitative and qualitative description of mechanical deformation processes occurring in the reinforcing layer, analytical dependences are derived to determine the increment of the angle of straightening of reinforcement filaments and the load caused by the mutual pressure of the cross-lying filaments at each step of the load increment. For testing of obtained dependencies shows an example of their application for flexible woven composites brands VP4126, VP6131 and VP6545. The simulation results confirmed the assumptions about the processes of straightening the threads and slowing the increase in mutual pressure of the threads. The results and dependences presented in this paper are directly related to the further generalization of the previously proposed analytical models for biaxial tension, since stretching in two directions will significantly reduce the straightening of the threads and increase the amount of mutual pressure under similar loads.