Micro and meso modeling of woven composites: Transverse cracking kinetics and homogenization

The evolution of damage in a woven composite results from the interaction and competition among several elementary mechanisms, which are greatly influenced by the microstructure. Thus, in order to develop a model as close as possible to the underlying physics, it is necessary to observe, understand and describe each mechanism on the most appropriate scale. This work extends the micro–meso bridge, previously developed for laminates made of unidirectional plies, to woven composites. Starting from a discrete microscopic description of transverse cracks at the ply’s scale, the cracks kinetics is simulated and homogenization relations are introduced to develop a mesoscale model. In woven composites, the additional scale of the yarn is present, thus a detailed and accurate three-dimensional micromodel was constructed and exploited for the micro–meso bridge.