In-Plane and Out of Plane Compressive Loading on 3D Woven Fabric Composites at Different Strain Rate

Three-dimensional (3D) woven fabric composites have gained significant attention as advanced materials for various structural applications due to their exceptional mechanical properties. This work aims to explore the compressive behavior of 3D woven orthogonal fabric composites under various strain rates through experimental and numerical modelling, considering both in-plane and out-of-plane loading conditions. The two different types of 3D orthogonal fabrics through thickness orthogonal and layer-to layer orthogonal fabrics are compared. The results have shown similar compressive behaviour during in-plane and out-of-plane testing both experimental and simulations. Comparing the both compressive tests, the in-plane compression strength exceeded the out-of-plane compression strength in both through thickness and layer-to-layer orthogonal composites. Notably, the layer-to-layer orthogonal composites exhibited higher stress values compared to the through thickness orthogonal composites. In in-plane compressive tests, the composites exhibited anisotropic behavior, with distinct deformation patterns depending on the loading direction. The failure mechanisms observed included fiber fracture and fiber-matrix delamination. In the out-of-plane compressive tests, the failure modes observed are fiber fracture, fiber pull-out, and interlaminar delamination.