The influence of 3D microstructural features on the elastic behaviour of tow-based discontinuous composites

Tow-based discontinuous composites consist of carbon-fibre tows dispersed in a polymeric matrix, resulting in a complex microstructure with inherent 3D features such as tow waviness, non-uniform tow thickness, and fibre content variations; however, most models for these materials are based on 2D formulations, or in very computationally-expensive FE models. This work proposes a computationally-efficient microstructure generator able to recreate...