A new approach based on plate laminate theory (PLT) is developed to calculate the mechanical properties of woven and braided composites. It supposes that, for each woven or braided composite oriented at ±θ, there is an equivalent ±θ angle-ply laminate made out of two unidirectional plies. An inverse algorithm based on PLT was developed to calculate, from the known mechanical characteristics of a composite reinforced by engineering fabrics, the properties of the mechanically equivalent angle-plies. The virtual angle-ply and cross-ply laminates obtained by inverse calculation include the effects of undulation and strand shear. The difference in properties between experience and theory is clear, especially for Poisson’s ratio. Comparisons performed between numerical predictions and experimental tests have shown a good correlation.
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