Experimental Study and Numerical Analysis of the Tensile Behavior of 3D Woven Ceramic Composites

In this work, the tensile responses of 3D woven quartz fiber silica matrix composites were experimentally and numerically investigated. The ceramic composites reinforced by 3D layer-to-layer angle interlock woven preforms were manufactured and tested under warp direction tension. A numerical method is proposed to model the mechanical response of the ceramic composites under tension. The method is based on a mesoscopic single layer unit cell for the composites, using a progressive damage analysis approach to account for damage evolution. The predicted results are compared with experimental data, and good agreement in the stress–strain response up to the ultimate tensile strength of the composites is obtained. It has been demonstrated that the proposed numerical model based on a simple single layer unit cell is both efficient and effective in characterization of the mechanical behavior of the 3D layer-to-layer woven ceramic composites.