An analytical approach for predicting the tensile strength of plain weave fabric composites

To predict the strength of plain weave fabric composites (PWFCs) quickly, an analytical model was developed by simplifying it as a three‐layer orthogonal laminate (0°/90°/0°). The undulation effects of fibers were taken into account based on stiffness and strength degradation theory. Moreover, less memory space is occupied due to the symmetry in ply stacking of the simplified laminate model. A PWFC was taken as an example to obtain the undetermined coefficients in the proposed analytical model. In comparison with the available experiment results the prediction accuracy of our method was checked. It demonstrates that the prediction errors for tensile strength of PWFCs are less than 10%, while the total modeling and computing time is no more than 30 s. Therefore, the proposed model is very suitable for quick conceptual design in engineering applications of PWFCs. Moreover, it is easy to extend this model to predict strength of PWFCs with other woven patterns, for example, triaxial woven composites. POLYM. COMPOS., 40:2391–2399, 2019. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers