Quantification of effects of stochastic feature parameters of yarn on elastic properties of plain-weave composite - Part 2: Statistical predictions vs. mechanical experiments

This paper presents a linear discretized theoretical model on the basis of the ideal theoretical model to evaluate elastic constants of plain-weave composite by using the statistics of the feature parameters of yarn measured from Micro CT data. A finite element method is utilized to calculate the elastic constants of the composite using the modified and global mean feature parameters of yarn, respectively. Uniaxial tensile and in-plane shear experiments are then completed to measure in-plane elastic constants of the composite. Finally, comparisons among the predictions of two theoretical models, FEM and experimental results are conducted. The results show that the stochastic fluctuations of yarn feature parameters decrease the in-plane elastic moduli and increase the in-plane shear moduli and Poisson's ratios of the plain-weave composite. The discretized theoretical model with taking account of real yarn stochastic features can predict more accurate elastic constants of the composite than deterministic models.