Semi-discrete shell finite elements for textile composite forming simulation

The composite textile reinforcement draping simulations allows the conditions for a successful process to be determined and, most importantly, the positions of the fibres after forming to be known. This last point is essential for the structural computations of the composite part and for resin injection analyses in the case of LCM processes. Because the textile composite reinforcements are multiscale materials, continuous (macro) approaches and discrete (meso) approaches that model the yarns have been developed. The finite element that is proposed in this paper for textile fabric forming is composed of woven unit cells. The warp and weft directions of the woven fabric can be in arbitrary direction with respect to the direction of the element side. This is very important in the case of multi-ply deep drawing and when using remeshing. The element is efficient because it is close to the physic of the woven cell while avoiding the very large number of unknowns in the discrete approach.