Analysis and modeling of the mechanical behavior of the compaction process of flexible guided 3D weaving

Abstract The preform presents viscoelastic behaviors during the compaction process of flexible guided 3D weaving. The compaction process directly affects the structure of the 3D preform and significantly impacts composite properties. Thus, a viscoelastic model to describe the 3D preform viscoelastic compaction behaviors and a compaction structure model to analyze the causes of the mechanical behavior of the compaction process are originally proposed. The 3D preform compaction experiments with different section area, different number of layers, and different guide structure ratio were conducted to verify the viscoelastic model and the compaction structure model and obtain the influence law on the mechanical behavior. The viscoelastic model can well capture the stress and strain evolution. The compaction structure model can analyze the main structural factors affecting the behavior of compaction mechanical behavior. This work provides a new approach to studying the mechanical behavior in the 3D preform manufacturing process.