A Quantitative Analysis of Waviness in Complex 3D Textile Using Least Squares Regression with Sinusoidal Wave Form

The waviness of a curved tow in textile composites is a critical parameter that affects overall composite strength. Although VTMS can produce the complex, realistic, fabric architectures at a fiber scale by simulating the relaxation and compaction process, it is still very challenging to quantitatively compare model and experimental results due to complex 3D interlocking woven structures. It is often up to the user to pick an appropriate fiber to represent the tow path. Therefore, a least squares regression with sinusoidal wave function that can estimate the tow path using a fitting algorithm on a fiber bundle was developed and implemented. The objective of this study is to develop a method of quantitative analysis of tow waviness and validate the modeling results.