Drape Simulation: Textile Material Model for Correct Property Reproduction to Improve the Preform Development Process of Fiber-Reinforced Structures.

The deformation behavior of textiles requires unconventional assumptions for successful drape simulation. The ®special performances in shearing, stretching and bending were implemented in LS-DYNA with user friendly subroutines. The general deformation behavior was considered by particular strain rates. A fully nonlinear and orthotropic material model was implemented to reproduce the character of the deformation mechanisms, shearing and stretching. The nearly negligible bending resistance was realized within a laminate formulation, which allows to set up an independent bending performance. Additional features such as pseudo-plastic shearing deformation or bending rigidity controlled by the bending side and direction was included. The simulation model was used to carry out complex drape simulations. A special afford was made in dealing with textile pre-treatments, which have local effects on the deformation behavior. Fixations affect the drapability and improve the handling of textile preforms. The material model and consequently the drape simulation are tools for a complex development process for textile preforms. The complete virtual development chain can lead from the textile good, with its special mechanical behavior, over the caused localization for special pre-treatment zones to a fully shaped and self-stable preform for complex shaped fiber-reinforced structures. An approach for composing this development chain will be introduced and presented.