Determining Deformation and Recovery Characteristics of Woven Fabrics Using A Novel Instrument

Abstract

Deformation and recovery characteristics of fabrics are important factors to be considered when evaluating comfort and formability. In this study, deformation (D), elasticity (E), plasticity (P) and hysteresis (H) properties of nine woven fabrics made of cotton and its blends were measured by Tactile Sensation Analyzer (TSA), and the relations between obtained results and low-stress mechanical properties (compressibility, bending rigidity, extensibility, shear resistance), structural properties (mass per unit area, thread count) and formability were investigated. Parameters which indicate the magnitude of out-of-plane deformation (D and E) were found out to be strongly related to bending, shear and extension properties. Recovery characteristics of fabrics - plasticity and hysteresis - were observed to be highly related to bending length and extensibility recorded under 5 N/m load. Moreover, parameters P and H were noted to be moderatly related to mass per unit area, thread count and resistance to repeated shear deformation. In addition to these findings, formability of cotton blended woven fabrics was detected to be significantly corelated with deformation and elasticity parameters measured by TSA.