An explanation of warp knitted fabric deformation under uni-axial tension by a novel index as shape ratio

Although the Poisson’s ratio (PR) can predict the deformation of engineering materials under uniaxial tension, but seems that it cannot predict well the deformation of structures such as fabrics. It can be attributed to the lack of continuity among constituent elements that leads to some distortion of them during tension. Therefore, the PR is not a suitable tool to explain precisely the deformation of structures such as fabrics. For this reason, a new geometrical index was defined to quantify the deformation of fabrics in order to use instead of PR. This index named shape ratio is obtained by division of the variation of squared perimeter to the area of a printed square on the fabric under uniaxial tension. To check the defined index, warp-knitted fabrics with various structures such as Tricot, Locknit, and Three- and Four-needle satin were produced and tested using tensile tester. The results show that shape ratio can predict the deformation of warp-knitted fabrics as an orthotropic structure rather than the PR.