Kinematic modelling of the weaving process applied to 2D fabric

A weaving process simulation of fabrics, used as fibrous reinforcements in composite applications, is presented in this article. The mechanical modelling of textile structures requires an accurate geometric representation of the woven elementary cell including complex interlacements of yarns and compactions. Using an explicit finite element solver, this paper proposes to mimic the kinematics in the weaving process of an industrial dobby loom in order to produce virtual textile samples whose geometry is driven by weaving loom parts. Different assumptions on the yarn geometrical and material law behaviour are initially taken from the literature to fit to the modelling of an E-glass yarn inserted in a 2D woven fabric. After several simulations, yarn parameters have been adapted to reproduce the observed cross-sectional shapes leading to a higher level of geometrical accuracy. The primary focus of the study has been on a 2D plain weave fabric with E-glass yarns. As a result, it can be observed that the geometry of the simulated yarns is quite similar to the coated samples achieved on real dobby loom using the proposed kinematic model.