Modeling the response, strength and degradation of 3D woven composites subjected to high rate loading

Abstract Experimental results which were obtained using a split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) apparatus to determine rate dependent effects, and reported by the authors in [1] are used as the basis to perform dynamic simulations of 3D woven composites (3DWCs) using representative unit cells (RUCs). The input material properties for the RUC simulations were determined from the concentric cylinder model (CCM) in conjunction with the geometry of the textile architecture, mechanical properties of pure epoxy samples and fiber mechanical properties. The RUC model incorporates rate dependent plasticity. Additionally, linear-eigen perturbations that correspond to buckling modes are used to seed imperfections in the RUC model to capture buckling and subsequent failure that was observed in experiments. The RUC model results showed good agreement with experiment and correctly captured the observed modes of failure while pointing to transitions in failure modes.