Analytical solutions for predicting tensile and in-plane shear strengths of triaxial weave fabric composites

This paper deals with new analytical solutions to predict tensile and in-plane shear strengths of triaxial weave fabric (TWF) composites accounting for the interaction between angularly interlacing yarns. The triaxial yarns in three directions of 0° and ±60° in micromechanical unit cell (UC) are idealized as the curved beams with a path depicted by using sinusoidal shape functions. The tensile and in-plane shear strengths of TWF composites are derived by means of the minimum total complementary potential energy principle founded on micromechanics. In order to validate the new model, the predictions are compared with experimental data in prior literatures. It is shown that the predictions from the new model agree well with experimental results.