Numerical homogenization of textile composites based on shell element discretization

The paper presents a shell element based unit cell approach for numerical homogenization of fiber reinforced textile composites. The modeling strategy is set up within the framework of the Finite Element Method with special emphasis on numerical efficiency, which becomes particularly important in the perspective of non-linear implicit simulations. A single layer of fabric is considered and the tows as well as the unreinforced matrix pockets are discretized by shell elements which are coupled appropriately allowing for delamination between the constituents. The approach is discussed, and the linear as well as the geometrical non-linear mechanical response of an example fabric is compared to a continuum based discretization of the same fabric. Additionally, simulations including delaminations are conducted. The substantially improved numerical efficiency of the shell based approach is shown.