A comparison of homogenization methods for 2-D woven composites

Woven composites present several advantages over traditional uni-directional laminates and predicting their mechanical properties is particularly important when designing structures using this kind of materials. The capability of the asymptotic expansion homogenization method (AEHM) compared to analytical methods based the mechanics of materials approach in predicting the mechanical properties of two-dimensional woven composites will be evaluated against experimental and numerical results for different fabric architectures and material constituents. In particular the analytical methods that will be taken in to consideration are the parallel-parallel, parallel-series, series-parallel and series-series methods. The results show that the AEHM gives good predictions compared to experimental results and compares well with the parallel-parallel method, which is the most reliable of the analytical methods considered. Moreover, the AEHM is able to provide localization of stresses and strains as part of the methodology, feature that is not provided by the analytical methods.