Meso-scale FE analyses of textile composite reinforcement deformation based on X-ray computed tomography

The simulation at meso-scale of textile composite reinforcement deformation provides important information. In particular it gives the direction and density of the fibres that condition the permeability of the textile reinforcement and the mechanical properties of the final composite. These meso FE analyses are highly dependent on the quality of the initial geometry of the model. Some softwares have been developed to describe composite reinforcement geometries. The obtained geometries imply simplification that can disrupts the reinforcement deformation computation. The present paper presents a direct method using computed tomography to determine finite element models based on the real geometry of the textile reinforcement. The FE model is obtained for any specificity or variability of the textile reinforcement. The interpenetration problems are avoided. The determination of the fibre direction at each point of the model is detailed. It is a key point for the quality of the deformation simulation. A comparison between FE models obtained from mu CT and from a textile geometrical modeller shows that the description of the variability taken into account by the first one leads to a better result. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.