A modified micromechanical curved beam analytical model to predict the tension modulus of 2D plain weave fabric composites

This paper proposes a new analytical solution to predict the elastic modulus of a 2D plain weave fabric (PWF) composite accounting for the interaction of orthogonal interlacing strands. The two orthogonal yarns in a micromechanical unit cell are idealized as curved beams with a path depicted by using sinusoidal shape functions. The modulus is derived by means of a strain energy approach founded on micromechanics. Four sets of experimental data pertinent to four kinds of 2D orthogonal PWF composites have been implemented to validate the new model. The calculations from the new model are also compared with those by using four models in the earlier literature. It is shown that the experimental results correlate well with predictions from the new model.