Summary: Meso-mechanical modelling of textile composites on the \` meso’ (unit cell) level provides information necessary to produce homogenised properties of the composite material (with the reinforcement deformed during draping), to be used in structural analysis on the \` macro’ (composite part) level.
The input data for the meso-calculations include geometrical model of the sheared textile and properties of the fibres and matrix. Inclusion model proceeds then to an approximate description of the reinforcement as a set of stiff inclusions, representing local orientations of the fibers, and employs the Eshelby solution and Mori-Tanaka or self-consistent homogenisation scheme to calculate the effective stiffness matrix of the composite.
Finite element modelling goes through stages of (1) converting the geometrical model into a solid model; 2) meshing; (3) applying periodic boundary conditions and (4) solving a set of models necessary to calculate the homogenised stiffness matrix. All these stages present specific challenges for the case of non-orthogonal translational symmetry of the problem, which are dealt with in the paper for two types of textile reinforcements: woven and non-crimp fabrics.