The present paper is dealing with the implementation of the explicit FE Code LS-DYNA to the simulation of the crash behavior and energy absorption characteristics of 3D braided composite tubes subjected to axial impact loading. The effects of geometrical and braid parameters on the energy absorption characteristics are investigated in this paper. The obtained numerical results are compared with actual experimental data, showing very good agreement.

A simplified model of 3D braided composites with transverse and longitudinal cracks is presented. By using the principle ofminimum complementary energy, the stress components are obtained in closed-form expressions in terms of a perturbation function, which is governed by two fourth-order inhomogeneous ordinary differential equations. The effective Young's modulus and Poissonratio of 3D braided composites with transverse and longitudinal cracks are calculated using the homogenization theorem. Todemonstrate the solution, some examples are analyzed.

The analysis of three-dimensional braided composites is more difficult due to its complex microstructure. A new type of finite element method is used to predict the nonlinear response and damage evolution of three-dimensional braided composites. Good correlation is observed between the predicted and the experimental results presented in the published literature.

The analysis of 3D braided composites is more difficult due to its complex microstructure. A new type of finite element method isdeveloped to predict the effective moduli and the local stress within 3D braided composites under the 3D mechanical loading. Toverify the present method, the material properties of undamaged 3D braided composites predicted in this paper are compared withthe previous work. To demonstrate this method, some examples are analyzed.

The analysis of three-dimensional (3D) braided composites is more difficult due to its complex microstructure. A new type of finite element method (FEM) is developed to predict the local stress and strength within 3D braided composites under the three-dimensional mechanical loading. To verify the present method, the material properties predicted in this paper are compared with the previous work. By using the model, the stress components within a unit cell are obtained and used to analyze the strength of 3D braided composites.