4.

Fabric drape
4.1 Deformation modes The fibre configuration in a textile fabric affects the processing properties porosity and permeability and also the mechanical properties of the finished composites part. Thus the characterisation of the distribution of fibre angles, caused by local deformation effects, is an important task in order to describe the manufacture and the performance of the part. Drape is the deformation of two-dimensional textiles and fabrics caused by gravity or other external forces for adaptation of the textiles on doubly-curved surfaces. Body forces such as gravity act directly on the fibres, while contact forces are transferred by friction. The following deformation modes can occur for textile materials [1]. In a single fabric layer: Shearing Straightening Wrinkling Stretching Slipping

In a lay-up of several layers: Slipping of fibre layers, especially at edges of the surface

c f
Figure 4-1. Illustration of the drape modes fibre shear (a), straightening (b), wrinkling (c), stretching (d), slip (e) and inter-layer slip (f).

95

Fabric shear, as discussed e.g. by Skelton [2,3] and Behre [4], occurs, if the directions of applied tensile forces do not coincide with the orientations of the fibre tow axes. The fibre tow orientations change, until the fibre axes coincide with the directions of the applied forces, or until a fabric specific maximum shear angle (locking angle) is achieved. Actual locking angles as observed experimentally for various glass fibre woven fabrics are in the range between 15 and 35 (Paper C), depending on the fabric architecture. In case of fibre locking, the fabric starts to wrinkle due to local shear stresses. Aspects of fibre bending and fabric wrinkling have been discussed by Grosberg and Swani [5] and Dahlberg [6]. Complex buckling of fabrics has been described and mechanically analysed by Amirbayat and Hearle [7]. Fabric shear has been found to be in general the most important fabric deformation effect [8,9]. Fibre straightening with changes in the curvature of fibres under tensile load in general is the deformation mode to occur first. This effect is significant for knitted fabrics, while for most low-crimp textile architectures, the effect is low. Elastic fibre stretching is generally of minor significance, since the reinforcement textiles are normally processed from fibres with high elastic tensile modulus. Slipping of the fibre tows can occur at sharp edges or corners of the surface and is subject to friction in the crossing points. In addition to the effects mentioned above, secondary effects such as bending and torsion caused by friction between the fibre tows and compression caused by forces normal to the axes of the fibre tows can occur on a microscopic scale in the fibre tows [10]. Parametric studies, carried out by Chen and Govindaraj [11], have shown that the draping behaviour is mainly determined by elastic tensile modulus in material principal directions shear modulus material thickness

Tensile modulus and shear modulus depend on the type of the fibres and on the fabric architecture, as has been shown by Long et al. [12] for various non-crimp fabrics. The Poisson-ratio is of minor importance for the draping behaviour. Collier et al. [13] and Kang and Yu [14] report experimental determination of the mechanical properties for characterisation of textiles using the Kawabata evaluation system [15,16]. While Hu and Zhang [17] discuss the applicability of the Kawabata system for determination of the fabric shear modulus, Culpin [18] suggests an alternative approach for quantitative experimental determination of the shear properties. Hu and Chan [19] investigated the relation between the fabric drape coefficient, characterising the formability, and the mechanical properties. Experimental results for the draping behaviour of various commercial fabrics have been published by Lindberg et al. [20]. Mohammed et al. [21] studied the shear deformation of woven fabrics of various architectures with respect to mechanical and microstructural aspects.

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4.2 Influence of fabric architecture

high

2D knitted fibre mat 2D braided 2D woven 3D braided, woven high shear stiffness UD tape low

drapability

Figure 4-2. Qualitative classification of various reinforcement textile architectures with respect to drapability and shear stiffness [22].

In the diagram shown in Figure 4-2, various reinforcement textiles are classified with respect to drapability and shear stiffness. For most fabric architectures, there is a relation between shear stiffness and drapability, i.e. the lower the shear stiffness, the higher the drapability. Exceptions are UD tapes, which have low shear stiffness and low drapability due to the lack of fixation of parallel fibres, and random fibre mats, which have high isotropic shear stiffness due to entanglement of the fibres but due to the lack of internal structure still conform easily to arbitrary surfaces [23]. In general, the reinforcing effect of the textiles increases from the upper right corner of the diagram to the lower left corner, although it is hardly possible to compare all architectures due to the various fields of application (e.g. UD tapes and 3D woven). Knitted fabrics conform well to arbitrary surfaces, since the mobility of the fibres is high and there is a significant effect of fibre straightening of the highly curved fibres. The reinforcing effect in terms of an increase in stiffness of the composite for knitted fabrics is low. For three-dimensional woven fabrics, on the other hand, the mobility of the fibres is highly constricted and the reinforcing effect is high. The drapability is low.

4.3 Description of drape Attempts for description of fabric drape and for numerical drape simulation have not only been made in the field of composites engineering, aiming at the characterisation of processing parameters and mechanical properties of the finished parts, but also in textile industry, for description of the material behaviour regarding visual and sensual impressions in clothing and fashion [24] in computer graphics, for realistic representation of textile deformation, e.g. in animated movie sequences [25].
97

low

While in composites engineering a quantitative description of the final state of the draped textile is relevant, for textile industry ("virtual catwalk") and computer graphics qualitative real time display of dynamic drape effects is of interest. The fibre orientations of bi-directional fabrics draped on doubly curved surfaces can be determined by applying drape simulation techniques. Approaches to describe the draping behaviour of fabrics have been discussed e.g. by de Jong and Postle [26], van der Ween [27], Breen et al. [28] and Shanahan et al. [29]. Kinematic models, mapping a geometrical pattern representing the textile structure on a surface taking into account defined geometrical constraints [27], and elastic models, describing the fabrics as anisotropic continuous structures [30], that are discretised to calculate the deformation and determine the fibre orientations using finite-element-methods (FEM) [13,14], will be discussed in the following sections. In particle models [28], each point of intersection of fibres is represented by a discrete particle, to which the physical properties of the fabric are attributed. For each particle the energy, given by interaction with the adjacent particles, is determined. Minimisation of the particle energy gives the most probable configuration. This approach is similar to the kinematic model, but does not require a surface for fabric deposition. Since fibre bending is also taken into consideration, free forming of fabrics under the influence of gravity can be simulated. Chen et al. [31,32] also suggest application of the finite-volume-method for simulation of complex deformations of woven fabrics under self-weight or external loads.

4.4 Theory of kinematic / geometrical drape simulation The fitting of woven fabrics to surfaces has first been discussed by Mack and Taylor [33]. While their method is restricted to fitting of fabrics to analytical surfaces, Heisey and Haller [34] describe fitting to non-analytical surfaces using numerical analysis techniques. Robertson et al. determined criteria for fabric wrinkling, applying a kinematic algorithm for calculation of the fibre arrangement of woven cloth draped on a hemisphere [35] and on a cone [36]. Examples for kinematic simulation of fabric drape and its applications have been presented e.g. by van West et al. [37], Bergsma [38] (for fibre reinforced thermoplastics), Long and Rudd [39], Trochu et al. [40] and Wang et al. [41]. Potluri et al. [42] extended the capabilities of kinematic drape algorithms to draping of closed preforms. The basics of kinematic drape simulation are discussed by van der Ween [27] and Tucker [43]. Each point x on a doubly curved surface can be described parametrically in surface co-ordinates ui:

x = x(u1 ,u 2 ) . The elementary length ds of a surface segment between two points is given by the first fundamental form of the surface
98

d s 2 = Gi j d u i d u j

(4-1)

with the coefficients

Gi j = x x . u i u j

(4-2)

The textile is described by co-ordinates vi oriented along the fibre directions. The elementary length ds of a section of the deformed textile is given by
d s 2 = (d i j + 2 Ei j ) d vi d v j . Eij is the Green-Lagrange-tensor with
E11 = 0 , E 2 2 = 0

(4-3)

(4-4)

(inextensible fibres) and

2 E12 = cosa ,

(4-5)

i.e. the textile deformation is assumed to be given by pure shear with a fibre angle a. For deposition of the textile on the surface the elementary length of a surface segment and a textile section are equal
Gi j d u i d u j = (d i j + 2 E i j ) d vi d v j .

(4-6)

With the Einstein convention and substitution of Equations (4-4) and (4-5), Equation (4-6) gives
2 2 G11 d u12 + 2 G12 d u1 d u 2 + G2 2 d u 2 = d v12 + 2 cosa d v1 d v 2 + d v 2 .

(4-7)

Drape of the fabric on the surface is described by mapping

u i = u i (v1 , v 2 ) ,

for which various approaches can be chosen [27]. Inserting of

d u1 = u1 u u u d v1 + 1 d v 2 and d u 2 = 2 d v1 + 2 d v 2 v1 v2 v1 v2

(4-8)
99

in Equation (4-7) gives

G 11 u1 v 1 u 2 u1 u 2 + 2 G12 v v + G2 2 v 1 1 1
2

dv2 1

2 2 u1 u 2 u1 u 2 2 + G11 v + 2 G12 v v + G2 2 v d v2 2 2 2 2 u1 u 2 u1 u 2 u1 u1 u 2 u 2 + 2 G11 v v + G12 v v + v v + G2 2 v v d v1 d v 2 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 2 2 = d v12 + 2 cosa d v1 d v 2 + d v 2

(4-9)

Comparison of the left hand side and right hand side of Equation (4-9) gives the set of equations
u1 G11 v 1 u1 G11 v 2 u 2 u1 u 2 + 2 G + G 1 2 2 2 v v1 v1 1 u 2 u1 u 2 + 2 G12 v v + G2 2 v 2 2 2
2 2

=1 , =1 ,
2

(4-10)

(4-11)

G11

u1 u 2 u1 u 2 u u 2 u1 u1 + G2 2 2 = cosa . + G12 + v1 v 2 v1 v 2 v1 v 2 v 2 v1

(4-12)

Boundary conditions are defined e.g. by the requirement that for v1 = 0 and v 2 = 0 the fibres are put on the surface along geodesic lines. For numerical solution of the non-linear set of Equations (4-10) to (4-12), the fabric is discretised in a grid with edge length d, such that the grid point (i,j) is characterised by the fibre co-ordinates v1 = i d and v 2 = j d (4-14) (4-13)

as illustrated in Figure 4-3. Transformation of the position of each grid point to surface coordinates or spatial co-ordinates allows to determine the angle a between the fibre orientations.
100

(0,0) v2 v1 (i - 1, j - 1) a (i,j)

d d

Figure 4-3. Kinematic simulation of drape on a spherical surface; illustration of discretised fabric.

The drape simulation is based on an algorithm with the following steps: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. choose starting point for deposition of the fabric on the surface define initial orientation for fibres with v2 = 0 put fibre with v2 = 0 along geodesic line on surface repeat steps 2 and 3 for fibres with v1 = 0 loop over i and j and determine the positions of the grid point (i,j), such that for each cell with grid points (i,j) and (i-1, j-1) as diagonally opposite corners the conditions imposed by Equations (4-10) to (4-12) are satisfied

Inversion of the mapping vi = vi (u1 , u 2 ) gives the set of equations

v1 u 1 v1 u 2 v2 v1 v 2 + 2 cos a + u u u 1 1 1 v2 v1 v 2 + 2 u u cosa + u 2 2 2
2 2

= G11 = G2 2
2

(4-15)

(4-16)

v v2 v1 v1 v1 v 2 v1 v 2 cosa + 2 = G12 + + u1 u 2 u1 u 2 u1 u 2 u 2 u1

(4-17)

101

with given curvature of the surface on the right hand side. Solution of Equations (4-15) to (417) is analogous to solution of Equations (4-10) to (4-12).

4.5 Drape simulation with PATRAN Laminate Modeler

The module Laminate Modeler included in the PATRAN commercial software package is an example for the implementation of kinematic drape algorithms. The drape simulation allows to determine the distribution of fibre orientations on the doubly-curved geometry of the composite part and the pattern for cutting out the fabric layers of the laminate. In order to perform the drape simulation a finite element model of the geometry of the final composite part needs to be generated. Material parameters to be specified are the thickness of the undeformed material, the initial angle between the two fibre orientations and the locking angle. Youngs modulus, shear modulus, Poisson ratio and density have no influence on the results. Drape of a single layer of textile is simulated considering the shear deformation modes "Scissor Drape" or "Slide Drape" [44].

"Scissor Drape" is textile deformation by shearing with constant distance between the intersection points of fibres (Figure 4-4). This deformation mode is assumed characteristic for woven fabrics. "Slide Drape" is textile deformation by shearing with constant distance between parallel fibres (Figure 4-4). This deformation mode is assumed characteristic for UD-layers.

b a a

Figure 4-4. Illustration of scissor drape (left) and slide drape (right) deformation modes.

Various alternative methods for draping of the fibres on the geometry surface as discussed by van der Ween [27] are implemented in the kinematic drape algorithm:

geodesic: The principal axes are oriented along paths with minimum length between two points on the geometry surface. planar: The orientation of principal axes is given by the projection onto the geometry surface following the viewing direction. energetic: The orientation of principal axes corresponds to the minimum shear strain energy.

102

The results of the drape simulation, depending on the starting point for draping of the textile and on the initial orientation of the fibres [41], are angles for the two directions of fibre orientation with respect to the local co-ordinate axes of the corresponding finite element and the thickness of the draped material for each element. For laminates with different properties of the layers, fabric drape is simulated for each single layer. The results are saved in text format in a data file and can be read for manipulation. Since the drape simulation is performed on a mesh representing the final geometry of the composite part, the mesh can be simulated such that it can be used for the finite element injection simulation.

4.6 Theory of finite element drape simulation

In finite element drape simulation, textiles are treated as continuous structures, discretised for numerical analysis. For modelling of the material in finite element analysis two approaches exist. One approach considers the microscopic structure of the material with micromechanical interactions between the fibres. The continuous fibres are discretised in beam elements, representing segments of the fibres between two intersection points [6]. Mass and elastic modulus of the fibres are attributed to the beams. If, in addition to fibre shear, also the effect of fibre slip is considered, contacts are simulated in the nodes of the beam elements. In a macroscopic approach, textiles are treated as two-dimensional orthotropic continuous structures [45,46]. Averaged homogeneous properties are attributed to each finite element. Micromechanical effects are implicitly taken into consideration by specification of effective values for elastic tensile modulus, shear modulus and Poisson-number of the textiles. This statistical treatment is justified, if the elements include a minimum number of textile unit cells. In two dimensions, fabrics are mostly modelled as shells [14,47,48], while there are also approaches to simulate sheet forming processes implementing membrane [49] or plate [13] elements. Due to the large deformations occurring in fabric drape, the forming behaviour of textiles is to be considered geometrically non-linear [29,50,51]. Similar considerations are applied for forming processes of fabrics pre-impregnated with thermoset or thermoplastic matrix material [52,53]. The description of forming processes is based on continuum mechanics. The momentum of a continuous system with density distribution r, velocity distribution v and volume V is

P = r v dV .
V

(4-18)

The system is subject to body forces

FV = r a dV
V

(4-19)
103

with acceleration a. Contact forces

FC = n dA
A

(4-20)

with the stress tensor s and the normal vector n of dA are exerted on the surface A of the system. With Gau's theorem this formulation can be replaced by

FC = dV .
V

(4-21)

In each inertial system the balance of momentum equation, stating that the change of momentum corresponds to the sum of body and contact forces
dP = FV + FC , dt

(4-22)

must be satisfied. The change of momentum is in Lagrange formulation expressed as

dP dv = r dV dt V dt
Substitution of body and contact forces:

(4-23)

dv dV = r a d V + d V . dt V V

(4-24)

The weak formulation of Equation (4-24) is

& d V = u r a d V + u dV x ur &
V V

(4-25)

with the weight function u. With Green's theorem

u d V = - u d V + u n d A
V A

(4-26)

Equation (4-25) gives

& d V = u r a d V - u d V + u n d A u r &x
V V A

(4-27)

104

Equation (4-27) is discretised in finite elements, on which the acceleration is described by

&& & & =W j X x j

(4-28)

&& and the shape functions Wj. Choice of the weight with the vectors of nodal accelerations X j
functions according to Galerkin

u = Wi
gives

(4-29)

&& = W r a d V - W d V + W n d A . r W j dV X j i i i
V V A

(4-30)

Equation (4-30) corresponds to a set of equations

&& = F + K u Mu

(4-31)

with mass matrix

M = Wi r W j d V
V

(4-32)

and acceleration vector

&& . && = X u j
The term

(4-33)

F = Wi r a dV + Wi n d A
V A

(4-34)

corresponds to external forces Fext, the term

K u = - Wi d V
V

(4-35)

is identified with internal forces Fint. Transformation of Equation (4-31) gives a system of equations for the vector of nodal acceleration

105

&& = M -1 (Fext - Fint ) u

(4-36)

with given right hand side. If the mass of the system is "lumped" in the nodes, i.e. the continuous mass distribution is approximated by discrete masses located in the nodes, the inversion of the resulting diagonal matrix is trivial and Equation (4-36) gives a system of decoupled equations that can be solved for the nodal accelerations. Equation (4-36) is discretised in time such that

&& n = M -1 (Fext n - Fint n ) u

with the notation
&& n = u &&(t n ) . u

(4-37)

The nodal velocities and displacements are calculated from the nodal accelerations according to the explicit central differences scheme
& n +1/ 2 = u & n -1 / 2 + u && n Dt n , Dt n = t n + 1 / 2 - t n - 1 / 2 u

(4-38)

and
& n + 1 / 2 Dt n + 1 / 2 , Dt n + 1 / 2 = t n + 1 - t n u n +1 = u n + u

(4-39)

with the initial conditions

& (0) = u & 0 and u(0) = u 0 . u

The values with index n+1/2 are interpolated in the middle of the interval from tn to tn+1. Forming of thin sheets is simulated using shell elements with 6 degrees of freedom per node, i.e. 3 degrees of freedom for translation and 3 for rotation. Equation (4-37) then corresponds to a set of 6N equations for N nodes. In practice, four-noded quadrilateral elements with bilinear shape functions are often used. Procedures like this [48] are extensively discussed in the standard literature, e.g. by Zienkiewicz and Taylor [54] and Bathe [55].

106

4.7 Drape simulation with PAM-FORM

The commercial software code PAM-FORM for forming simulation of metallic or nonmetallic sheet materials [53] has originally been developed for the simulation of structural responses to transient dynamic loading, especially in crash situations. The Lagrangian nonlinear dynamic numerical analysis is based on an explicit finite element method with central differences time integration scheme as discussed above [56]. Forming by contact forces is simulated, taking into consideration the material properties of the sheet materials. The sheet material is described as an orthotropic continuum without modelling of the individual fibres and their interactions. Forming of thin sheets is simulated using shell elements. For the shell elements macroscopic material models
= ()

are implemented. The composite material is treated as a three-phase material [56]:

The first phase represents a uni-directional or bi-directional fibre material with linearelastic properties. Two initial fibre orientations can be defined by vectors. The fibres do not only contribute to membrane stresses, but also to bending moments calculated by classical beam theory. The second phase represents the effect of the textile architecture on the material properties due to interaction of the fibre tows. This isotropic linear-elastic phase has no real equivalent. It is characterised by a shear modulus G and a Poisson-number n. The various drape effects that can occur are expressed in the effective shear stiffness and are not formulated separately. The shear modulus changes for a given value of the fibre angle (locking angle alock). For values of the fibre angle smaller than the locking angle, the shear stiffness changes abruptly and the fabric starts to buckle or to wrinkle (Figure 4-5).

G = G1 , a a lock G = G2 , a < a lock G2 > G1

(4-40)

107

G G2 G1

alock

90

Figure 4-5. Shear modulus as function of fibre angle a for a fabric with an initial fibre angle of 90.

A third optional phase represents a thermo-visco-elastic matrix, characterised by a Maxwell model with a spring and a dashpot in series. Introduction of this phase is useful for description of the forming behaviour of fibre reinforced thermoplastic materials.

The mechanical behaviour of the fabric is given by superposition of the three phases in parallel. When all phases are in parallel, the strains are identical
f = m =t ,

(4-41)

while the stresses in the three phases sum up as

= f + m + t .

(4-42)

The fibre orientations in the fabric are calculated from the shear strains of the deformed shell elements. Forming of multi-layer structures such as preforms for laminates is simulated by layering of shell elements, each layer representing one material ply.
punch

blankholder

die

fabric sheet

Figure 4-6. Example for finite element drape simulation: Forming of a hemisphere. Surfaces of punch, die, blankholder and fabric sheet are modelled. 108

In forming processes, forces are transferred from the tools to the fabric by contacts. For the simulation the surfaces of the sheet, the tools (punch and die) and blankholders are modelled (Figure 4-6). The surfaces of the tools and blankholders are modelled using "null"-elements with no calculation of nodal displacements, that are used for contact definition only. Since no deformations are supposed to occur in the tools, they are modelled as rigid bodies, i.e. translational and rotational degrees of freedom are fixed relative to the centre of mass. A contact between two objects is detected, if the distance between the surfaces of the objects vanishes locally. Contacts are characterised by restrictions on the relative movement of the objects normal to the contact interface. The relative movement of the objects tangential to the contact interface is subject to frictional forces. For simulation of contacts an asymmetric formulation is applied [56]. The surfaces of the tools are defined as "Master", the surface of the sheet as "Slave". In given time intervals the distance between master-surface and slavenodes is controlled. If the distance between any segment of the master-surface and any slavenode is smaller than the contact thickness, penetration is detected. The contact thickness is given by the thickness of the sheet, represented by the thickness of the shell elements. In case of penetration, restoring forces in form of step functions are activated, avoiding further penetration of the surfaces. The restoring forces are proportional to the depth of penetration and the contact stiffness (penalty contact). The contact stiffness is again dependent on the stiffness and density values of the objects being in contact with each other.

4.8 Comparison of kinematic and finite element drape simulation

Figure 4-7 shows the results of the kinematic drape simulation for fabric drape on a hemisphere. The simulation gives the pattern of the fibres placed on the surface of the final geometry. The results of the FE simulation for draping of the same fabric on the same surface geometry are illustrated in Figure 4-8, showing the vectors for the fibre axes on the deformed sheet. Comparison of Figures 4-7 and 4-8 shows qualitative correspondence of the fibre orientation patterns achieved by both simulation methods. Quantitative differences can be observed, since Figure 4-8 does not show the final state of the simulation. In the finite element simulation, local deviations of the vectors from the general fibre orientations are caused by numerical effects such as hourglassing of the shell elements. This effect can occur for shell elements with reduced numerical integration schemes. Discussion of the theory of shell elements is beyond the scope of this work and can be found e.g. in the work published by Belytschko et al. [57,58].

109

Figure 4-7. Drape of a 0/90 fabric on a hemisphere; kinematic simulation using PATRAN Laminate Modeler.

Figure 4-8. Drape of a 0/90 fabric on a hemisphere; Lagrangian non-linear dynamic finite element simulation using PAM-FORM.

110

Figure 4-9. Drape of a 0/90 twill weave 2x2 glass fibre fabric on a hemisphere.

Figure 4-10. Drape of a 0/90 twill weave 2x2 carbon/aramid hybrid fabric on a hemisphere.

111

Figures 4-9 and 4-10 show typical results of drape experiments of 0/90 fabrics on a hemisphere. Especially from Figure 4-9 it can be seen, that under experimental conditions, it is difficult to achieve a perfectly symmetrical fibre pattern. Nonetheless, both experimental pictures show the same characteristics: Under 0 and 90, there is no change in fibre angle and no fabric extension. Under 45, the fibre angle is reduced and the fabric is extended due to fibre shear. These observations are in agreement with the quantitative results of draping experiments of various fabrics on a hemisphere, presented by Mohammed et al. [59]. Comparison of the simulated and experimentally determined fibre patterns shows qualitative correspondence of the results. Quantitative correspondence depends on correct information on the locking angle (for the kinematic simulation) and of the effective stiffness values of the shell elements (for the finite element simulation). Draping experiments on a hemisphere for validation of results for both kinematic and finite element drape simulation have frequently been documented in the literature. In general, good agreement between experiment and simulation has been found: Van West et al. [37] and Long et al. [12], for example, report good agreement between predicted and measured fibre patterns for kinematic drape simulation methods. For unbalanced fabrics, however, Long et al. [10] found the results of standard kinematic drape simulation less satisfactory and developed a strain energy based iterative mapping scheme. For finite element methods, Dong et al. [48] studied the influence of numerical parameters on the simulation results for explicit dynamic analysis implementing shell elements, applying the ABAQUS commercial code. The presented results are similar to the results shown in Figure 4-8. Simon et al. [52] simulated the hot drape forming of carbon fibre/epoxy prepregs using PAM-STAMP and found good coincidence with experiments. For a finite element method implementing membrane elements, Boisse et al. [49] report good agreement with drape experiments. The kinematic simulation does not consider the actual material behaviour and the mechanics of the draping process and is based on geometrical information only. Main problems of the FEM approach, on the other hand, are related to the experimental determination of the effective material stiffness [45] and to the numerical solution of the complex mathematical problem (non-linear effects in material behaviour, large deformations, contacts, friction). For the example shown in Figures 4-7 and 4-8, the CPU time for kinematic drape simulation is in the order of magnitude of 1 s on a PC (Pentium II, 400 MHz), for finite element drape simulation it is in the order of magnitude of 20 h on a workstation (SUN Blade 1000). Finite element modelling is complex since a high number of null elements is required to mesh the spherical surfaces of the tools with reasonable accuracy. The mesh for kinematic drape simulation can be generated with respect to the needs of the LCM resin flow simulation formulated in Euler co-ordinates. In case of FE drape simulation formulated in Lagrange co-ordinates, the information on fibre orientations needs to be mapped from the deformed mesh representing the draped fabric onto a second mesh, meeting

112

the requirements of the flow simulation. Kinematic drape simulation is thus to be preferred to finite element drape simulation for combination with LCM-simulation.

References
[1] Long, A.C., Rudd, C.D., Blagdon, M., Kendall, K.N., Demeri, M.Y.: "Simulation and Measurement of Reinforcement Deformation During Preform Manufacture", Polymers & Polymer Composites 4(5), 1996 Skelton, J.: "Fundamentals of Fabric Shear", Textile Research Journal 46(1), 1976 Skelton, J.: "Shear of Woven Fabrics" in "Mechanics of Flexible Fibre Assemblies", Sijthoff & Noordhoff, Alphen, 1980 Behre, B.: "Mechanical Properties of Textile Fabrics. Part I: Shearing", Textile Research Journal 31(2), 1961 Grosberg, P., Swani, N.M.: "The Mechanical Properties of Woven Fabrics. Part III: The Buckling of Woven Fabrics", Textile Research Journal 36(4), 1966 Dahlberg, B.: "Mechanical Properties of Textile Fabrics. Part II: Buckling", Textile Research Journal 31(2), 1961 Amirbayat, J., Hearle, J.W.S.: "The Anatomy of Buckling of Textile Fabrics: Drape and Conformability", Journal of the Textile Institute 80(1), 1989 Potter, K.D.: "The influence of accurate stretch data for reinforcements on the production of complex structural mouldings. Part 1: deformation of aligned sheets and fabrics", Composites 10(3), 1979 Basset, R.J., Postle, R.: "Fabric Mechanical and Physical Properties", International Journal of Clothing Science and Technology 2(1), 1990

[2] [3]

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[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

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