The role of damage on the tensile behavior of a knitted fabric composite - A preliminary FE study

Abstract

The majority of papers reported in the literature are concerned with the analytical modeling of elastic properties of knitted fabric reinforced composites. This paper presents the modeling of damage and tensile stress-strain behavior of knitted glass fiber fabric reinforced epoxy composites by the use of finite elements. For the purpose of analysis, a unit cell, enclosing the characteristic periodic repeat pattern in the knitted fabric, is isolated and modeled. The damage is described in the form of cracks within both the matrix material and between the yarn and matrix interfaces. The results of analysis suggest that in some cases the tensile elastic properties can be significantly affected by crack size and position. The advantages and disadvantages of using this method to analyse knitted fabric composites in general are also discussed.