An analytical method called the selective averaging method (SAM) is pr
oposed for prediction of the thermoelastic constants of textile compos
ite materials. The unit cell of the composite is divided into slices (
mesoscale), and the slices are subdivided into elements (microscale).
The elastic constants of the homogenized medium are found by averaging
the elastic constants of the elements selectively for both isostress
and isostrain conditions. For thin textile composites where there are
fewer unit cells in the thickness direction, SAM is used to compute di
rectly the [A], [B] and [D] matrices of the composite plate. The resul
ts obtained by the SAM are compared with available finite-element-base
d micromechanical methods and analytical solutions. (C) 1997 Elsevier
Science Limited.