Numerical analyses of axial tension mechanisms of 3D orthogonal woven E-glass/epoxy composites with drilled holes

As an auspicious composite material, three-dimensional orthogonal woven E-glass/epoxy composites (3DOWC) are associated with drilling processes to assemble the parts for obtaining the desired shape and for the improvement of the component’s quality. This study investigated the axial tensile properties of 3DOWC with 6 mm drilled holes (DH). For comparison, two-dimensional woven E-glass/epoxy laminated composites (2DWC) with the same drilled hole size were also tested. To analyze the effects of holes on the microstructure properties, the finite element (FE) software ABAQUS/Standard was employed to simulate the tensile properties of composites. Hashin damage criteria were used to predict the failure modes of the composite. The stress and strain curves were obtained to compare the numerical and experimental results at the same load condition. The comparisons illustrated the existence of a good agreement between the experimental and finite element method (FEM) results. In addition, scanning electron microscope (SEM) images were used to analyze failure modes and fracture mechanisms. Various degradation phenomena were observed especially fiber fracture, matrix cracking, and tow debonding also less delamination was noticed in 3DOWC than 2DWC.