Font Size: 

This paper describes the results of tensile tests and finite element (FE) calculations with
representative volume elements (RVEs) of basalt fibre reinforced plastic with two different types of fabric
reinforcements. As fabric reinforcements show repeating ondulations of warp and fill yarn, simple mixtures laws
reach their limits. That is the reason why the mesoscopic dimension, lying between the microscopic and the
macroscopic dimension, has to be taken into account when a mechanical characterization of fabric reinforced
composites is carried out. The aim of this work is to determine the stiffness of a fabric reinforced composite in
warp and fill direction with numerical investigations. The simulations are based on FE-calculation with two
different RVEs. The tensile tests and the FE-calculations have been carried out for two different types of basalt
fabrics, namely twill 2/2 and twill 1/3. The comparison between the experimental data and the results of the
FE-calculations are provided in order to support the validity of the proposed model.