Compressed loop method for the bending behaviour of coated and laminated fabrics analysis

Abstract

Fabric stiffness is one of the most important parameters in estimating the wear and comfort properties of multilayered textile materials. The characteristics of bending stiffness may be determined using different test methods. The aim of this work was to apply the compress hanging loop method for the evaluation of stiffness of coated and laminated fabrics. In order to achieve this purpose an extension machine appropriately equipped with a special device for specimen fixing has been used in this work. The initial and ultimate geometrical characteristics of the loop, and also the forces that were necessary to compress the loops to a certain degree were determined in this work. The investigation reveals that the force, which is necessary to compress the loop to a stated degree, is different not only for specimens cut in various directions but also for those specimens that are of different size. Therefore, the deformation properties are dependent on the material structure and testing conditions. The results indicate that coated and laminated fabrics with larger surface weight were more resistant to compression force. Also for these fabrics the larger difference of compressing force values was determined when the polymer film had been in different loop sides. It should be noted that analysis of geometrical compressed loop characteristics showed that for all tested specimens the upper and lower ratios of formed semicircles were not equal. The investigation reveals that the hanging compressed loop method allows extending the range of tested materials, which include rigid and less rigid fabrics.

Evaluation and prediction of fused fabric composites properties – A review

“…Fabric stiffness is one of the most critical factors in wearing comfort of multi-layered garment components [101]. The measure of the resistance of the fabric to bending or stiffness is defined as flexural rigidity [71].…”

“…It can either be measured using (a) cantilever principle, (b) bending properties measured using KES-F system (B, 2HB) [76], (c) circular bending rigidity test [102] and (d) compressed loop method [71]. The compressed loop method was found preferable for measuring the stiffness of stiffer fabric components than the cantilever method [101]. In this method, the sample strip of fabric is suspended as a shaped loop over a compression plate.…”

Formulas to determine fabric bending rigidity from simple tests

“…11 A related configuration was studied by Zhou and Ghosh, 47 where the ends of the strip were not clamped, but rested on circular rollers. Also, Jakubcˇioniene _ et al 53 and Masteikaite _ et al 54 investigated a test in which a hanging wrinkle was compressed by an upward-moving rigid horizontal plate.…”

Predicting the Flexural Rigidity in Fused Shirt Components Using Design of Experiment

“…Stiffness is one of the principal components in evaluating the garment's appearance 5 and contributes to the wearing comfort of shirts. 6 It can be measured as flexural rigidity (FR), the ratio of the fabric's resistance to bending and its weight. 7 The stiffness of the fused component is always higher than the combined stiffness of the component fabrics.…”