The effect of meso-level uncertainties on the mechanical response of woven fabric composites under axial loading

First, a finite element unit cell model of a glass fibre plain weave has been developed via an implicit subroutine. Because of the complex behaviour of fibrous yarns, a user-defined constitutive model needed to be defined. Material properties of yarns in the dry fabric are extracted by fitting the numerical model to experimental data under the uni-axial and bi-axial extension modes. Subsequently, two sets of geometrical and material-related meso-level uncertainty factors are studied using two-level factorial designs. Through the obtained half-normal probability plots, as well as the main and interaction factor effects, the most significant parameters are identified and discussed.