Theoretical and experimental investigation of tensile properties of net warp-knitted spacer fabrics

Abstract

This work aimed to investigate the tensile behavior of net warp-knitted spacer fabrics using the experimental and theoretical approaches. Tensile behavior of the warp-knitted spacer fabrics is one of the fundamental parameters which rarely considered in the literature. Therefore, the net spacer fabrics were made with three different variables (fabric thickness, size of meshes, and the position of meshes of the outer layer with respect to each other) in order to study the effects of structural parameters on the tensile behavior. A 2D net-fabric which used for the outer fabrics was made for in-depth considerations and also the comparison between the 2D fabrics and spacer fabrics. The initial linear elastic modulus of the 2D fabrics and the initial linear elastic modulus of the spacer fabrics were selected for the assessment of the tensile characteristics. First, a mechanical model was developed based on the geometrical structures and material properties of the 2D fabrics using energy method and Castigliano’s theorem. Then, the effects of spacer yarns on the tensile behavior of spacer fabrics were taken into account. The latter model was proposed using the bending theory of a curved bar. Experimental data were compared with the values obtained from the theoretical approaches and the end results showed that the developed models can predict the modulus reasonably. Moreover, the results indicated that the tensile behavior of the spacer fabrics are independent of the position of the holes in the outer layer whilst the fabric thickness and size of meshes affect the tensile modulus.