Experimental and finite element analysis of in-plane shear properties of a carbon non-crimp fabrics at macroscopic scale

Abstract

Shear deformation of composite reinforcement is the most significant and important mechanism of material characterization. So, in-plane shear properties of composite reinforcement are important parameters for determining application and use of this category of materials. The bias extension test is frequently employed to investigate the in-plane shear behavior of composites fabrics with a length equal to or greater than twice its width. In the first part of this work, bias extension tests on non-crimp fabrics have been conducted. Force and displacement were measured and registered. From obtained data, shear angles and normalized shear forces were theoretically determined. The second part was a finite element analysis of the same test based on hypo elastic model at macroscopic scale. The software ABAQUS/Explicit was used to carry out the finite element analysis in the work.