A micromechanics model of a plain weave Gossamer composite structure using thermoviscoelastic principles

Composite materials offer a viable solution for providing the necessary rigid support with low density and high stiffness for enormous structural members in space. In particular, woven fiber composites have been shown to have a high degree of design flexibility and superior engineering properties.; This thesis develops an analytical micromechanics model for a Gossamer composite tubular structure. The material system used is a typical graphite/epoxy with T-300 fibers in a plain weave sandwiched between 2 uni-directional laminae. The proposed model predicts the effective engineering constants for an elastic and viscoelastic analysis.; Results demonstrated that the elastic analysis matched results from the Rule of Mixtures and Classical Lamination Theory. The viscoelastic results were based on the Elastic Viscoelastic Correspondence Principle and mirrored the elastic results---except for the imaginary portion that proved difficult to understand physically. Further study is recommended for the viscoelastic work with more frequency and temperature emphasis.