Modeling and analysis of in-plane bending in fibrous reinforcements with rotation-free shell finite elements

Simulations of the draping is currently based on membrane and out-of-plane bending stiffnesses of the composite textile reinforcements. In this article, an additional stiffness of in-plane bending of fibers is introduced. This stiffness gives rise to the appearance of transition zones in the deformation of fibrous reinforcements, which have been experimentally highlighted. Second gradient approaches have made it possible to model these phenomena in continuous medium and 3D finite element. In this article, the curvature of the fibers leading to in-plane deformation energy is calculated from the position of neigh-boring elements, using rotation-free shell elements with explicit dynamic scheme. The result is an efficient approach that can be used to simulate the forming of textile reinforcements. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

A new stiffness of in-plane bending of fibers is introduced in this article to simulate the appearance of transition zones in the deformation of fibrous reinforcements. Second gradient approaches and rotation-free shell elements are used to model these phenomena in continuous medium and 3D finite element.