In the process of molding fiber preforms

the internal yarns of composite structures such as aero-engine blade and casing will interact with each other such as extrusion

dislocation

and twisting between fiber bundles

and the warp and weft yarns are irregularly distributed in terms of cross-sectional shape

fiber volume content and path. The highly non-uniformity of the composite mesoscopic structure is extremely susceptible to cause stress concentration in the internal material

which leads to damage. It reduces the reliability of the structure

and significantly increases the difficulty of mechanical performance analysis and evaluation of composite structures. This paper summarizes and reviews the current research status of the mechanical behavior analysis methods for advanced composites and its preformed complex structures from three aspects: simulation of fiber preform molding process

mesoscopic modelling

and mechanical performance analysis. The application of the digital element approach to the simulation of fiber preform molding processes for needle-punched composites and 3D woven composites is highlighted. And the development status of mesoscopic modeling that considers the real structural geometry of composites and mechanical property prediction methods is summarized and evaluated. In view of the problems and challenges of numerical simulation research on the manufacturing processes and mechanical properties of aeronautical complex structures of composites

a research idea of establishing data-driven efficient multiscale analysis method for complex structures by combining virtual fiber molding process simulation is proposed. In this way

the mapping relationship of composite structure molding process–mesoscopic structure–macroscopic mechanical properties is revealed

which will be able to optimize the composite structures manufacturing process and provide theoretical support to further realize the digital technology of aeronautical composite equipment.