Computation of elastic properties of fabrics used in composite materials

Woven fabric reinforcements are irreplaceable from the moment that heavy or complex composite structures should be manufactured, such as some pipe connections or flanges, light panels for housing, subsea well head protection panels, etc. In this paper overall characteristics of woven fabrics are described, followed by the review of different micromechanical analytical approaches. Starting with the simplest and continueing with the more complex, these models are: the analogy with a [0 degrees/90 degrees] laminate, the series and parallel mosaic models, the 1D fiber undulation model, and the 2D series-parallel and parallel-series fiber undulation models. All these approaches are based on the classical laminated plate theory. Analyzing the results of numerical applications of the models and experimental results, one can notice that both 2D fiber undulation models give the best estimated values for elastic moduli. The other provide a rough estimate of moduli only.