Assessment of the influence of stitching on the tensile stress relaxation of laminated fabrics

Abstract

Different parts of the garment may be laminated with an interlining in order to obtain specific appearance and form. Mechanical properties of the laminated fabric is affected by the properties of interlining and differs from the face fabric. Moreover, the existence of seam for joining the laminated fabrics in various parts of the garment is another issue, which has to be considered during the evaluation of the mechanical behavior of garment. Garments’ time dependent mechanical behavior such as the tensile stress relaxation is of great importance while wearing them. In this study, the tensile properties and the stress relaxation of a group of woven fabric, which was laminated by a nylon interlining, were investigated at two strain levels, before and after stitching. In this regard, the effects of strain level, lamination process, seam type and the stitch length were evaluated. According to the results, it can be declared that increasing the strain level reduces the stress relaxation percentage. The laminated fabric presented higher values of tensile stress and strain, while lower stress relaxation was occurred in this structure compared to the un-laminated fabric. Analysis of results showed that higher stress relaxation was obtained for the “stitched laminated fabric” compared to the “laminated fabric without seam.” Overall, in the presence of seam, the stress relaxation is affected by the seam type and the stitch length. Finally, the best correlation between the experimental stress relaxation results and the viscoelastic models were obtained for the two-component Maxwell model. The result of this study should be considered in designing and manufacturing of protective textiles and clothing that include both lamination and stitching processes and during use may be encountered with constant strains for a period of time.

Tensile stress relaxation behavior of a novel wide‐angle fabric/EPDM composite at room temperature

“…24 Chen et al fitted the relaxation modulus of PTFE materials by means of the fractional-order Maxwell's model. 25 Several studies 11,14,[26][27][28][29] compared and analyzed the applicability of mechanical models (two-component Maxwell's model, modified model of standard linear solid, Alfrey's model, and three-component Maxwell's model with parallel-connect nonlinear spring) to handle experiments relaxation curves, and found that for the mechanical models with higher component values, the treatment effect is excellent. Therefore, the threecomponent Maxwell's model with parallel-connect nonlinear spring was in the best agreement with the experimental relaxation curves of the analyzed fabric.…”