Generation of virtual geometric domains for woven textile composites. (15th March 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Akpoyomare, A.I.; Okereke, M.I.; Bingley, M.S.
• Is Part Of: Composite structures. Volume 236(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-03-15
• Subjects: Textile composites -- Geometric modelling -- Meso scale -- Virtual domains -- Yarns -- Cross-sectional shape functions; Composite construction -- Periodicals; Composites -- Périodiques; 624.18
• DOI: 10.1016/j.compstruct.2019.111624
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0263-8223

Abstract

Abstract: The definition of an appropriate geometric domain is a prerequisite for performing virtual thermo-mechanical analyses on materials. Most of the current methods for generating virtual geometric domains for textile composites rely on complex equations conjured from the machining/manufacturing of the textiles; consequently, an intuitive method for developing a variety of virtual geometric domains for woven textile composites is desirable. The literature describes several techniques for generating geometric models for textile composites using advanced energy minimisation principles and computational imaging tools, but these techniques require specialist equipment, for deducing necessary empirical data, and heuristics to obtain acceptable results. This communication proposes a method for generating virtual geometric models using simple geometric metrics from the topology of the desired woven textiles. We describe and implement a geometric modelling algorithm for generating woven textile composites and show that the proposed technique yields geometric models with comparable characteristics to actual textile fabrics. Due to its modular structure, the proposed algorithm can be readily implemented on any programming platform and adapted to generate bespoke woven textile fabrics. This has been demonstrated by generating CAD models of woven textiles which can be adopted in any pre-processing tool for subsequent analysis in a finite element scheme.