Influence of structural parameters at microscale on the fiber reinforcement

In this paper, a random configuration model for fiber arrangement is proposed and implemented in a computer code. This development enables the investigation of the effect of the random arrangements of the fibers inside the tow on the permeability and the flow properties. Four parameters are considered including three microstructural parameters: side length of the domain L, variation of radii Δr, minimum interfiber distance δmin, and one macro parameter: porosity ɛ. Finite element method is performed for the transverse flow of porous media with random arrangements of fibers. Morris method for global sensitivity analysis is used to study the influence of four parameters. The results have shown that the porosity ɛ has the most obvious influence on the fiber reinforcement permeability.