Experimental and macro finite element modeling studies on conformability behavior of woven nylon 66 composite reinforcement

In this study, 3D hemispherical forming experiments are conducted to analyze the conformability behavior of nylon 66 plain woven reinforcements with different weft densities. To make insight into the forming process, a macro finite element model is also proposed for 3D forming of a specific woven reinforcement by using the defined 'Fabric' material. The results show that the proposed FEM modelling is highly correlated with experimental findings in terms of forming energy values with small and insignificant errors values, which confirm well model validity. It shows that the nylon 66 composite woven reinforcement with a lower weft density exhibits a lower forming energy (toughness) and hence a higher conformability over a hemispherical surface. On the other hand, modeling outputs clearly indicate that more wrinkling intensity appear for woven reinforcement with a higher weft density.