Author(s)

D. Brown and Z.J. Wu

Abstract

A new modelling approach for the prediction of the stiffness of 3-D orthogonally woven composites has been formulated. The composite is assumed to be homogeneous and orthotropic macroscopically. The basic concept is to discretise the representative unit cell into slices (layers) and then stripes (elements). The stiffness of each slice can be obtained under the condition of isostrain or isostress. The final stiffness of the composite is given analytically by combining these slices. The model eliminates the inconsistency between macro- and micro-level strains and gives more realistic distributions of strain for the representative unit cell. The predicted data are compared with data from some existing models and experimental data. 1. Introduction 3-D composit

Keywords