Numerical modelling of compaction induced defects in thick 2D textile composites

• Published in: Materials & design 2020-11, Vol.196, p.109088, Article 109088
• Main Authors: Thompson, Adam J., McFarlane, Joseph R., Belnoue, Jonathan P.-H., Hallett, Stephen R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Composites; Defects; Process modelling; Textiles
• ISSN: 0264-1275; 1873-4197
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matdes.2020.109088

This paper introduces a novel approach to include the high transverse compliance of textile materials into conventional forming simulations, allowing for the compaction process of thick 2D textile composites to be simulated. With this approach, the textile is presented as a continuous material using mutually constrained shell and membrane elements, this allows for both the high tensile stiffness and low out-of-plane bending stiffness to be present within the model. To include the through-thickness behaviour of the material, a compliant penalty contact is introduced which is able to capture the mechanical response of the material under compaction. By simulating the interaction between individual plies, the model is able to predict compaction induced wrinkle formation. The approach is used here to analyse the deformation behaviour of stacked layers compacted on to a male box tool to produce a C-section bracket. The model is validated against experimental results and used to assess the influence of key design and manufacturing parameters on defect formation. [Display omitted] •A novel method to simulate the compaction behaviour of textiles at the macroscopic scale is presented.•The method is included into a conventional finite element approach for simulating the forming behaviour of textiles.•The ability of the method to capture compaction induced wrinkles is highlighted through comparison to experimental results.•The approach is used to assess the effect that design and manufacturing parameters have on the quality of the final composite.