Influence of number of plies on flexural behavior of ultra-thin woven composites

Abstract

Deep space missions require weight-sensitive structures capable of supporting numerous operational configurations. The high strength-to-weight ratio and flexible material properties of woven fiber composites make them ideal for aerospace structures. The high curvature experienced by space structures during folding and deployment points out the critical importance of understanding their bending behavior for optimizing future structures. This paper introduces micromechanical models to capture the impact of ply count on the mechanical characteristics of thin woven fiber composites. In addition, the study aims to investigate the behavior of results derived from Classical Lamination Theory under varying numbers of plies. The reduction in bending stiffness between classical lamination theory predictions and finite element simulations across all ply configurations varies from approximately 500% for single-ply laminates to 90% for threeply laminates, highlighting the efficacy of the classical lamination theory approach in accurately predicting bending properties with increasing number of plies.