Modeling mechanical properties of knitted fabric composites - Part III: Applications

Abstract

This is the last part of a series of papers, presenting the review and summary of a systematically theoretical investigation on the mechanical properties of knitted fabric reinforced laminae (single layer) and laminates (multilayer). The geometric identification for various knitted fabric structures and the theoretical development of the modeling procedure have been described in detail in the previous two papers. The most significant advantage of this modeling is that the composite properties at any loading condition can be determined in terms of those of the constituent fiber and matrix materials which are easily obtainable. The present paper summarizes the results of applications to a number of typical knitted fabric reinforced composites, including thermoset and elastomer matrix based composite laminae and multilayer knitted fabric laminates with different lay-up arrangement. The predicted stiffness, ultimate strength, rubber-elastic relationship, and progressive failure behavior are compared favorably with experimental data. Investigations of the fabric stitching parameters, fiber content, constituent properties, and laminate lay-up patterns on the influence of the composite mechanical behavior are presented. Future trend of simulation on knitted fabric composites is also addressed in the paper.