A Mechanical Model for the Lateral Compression of Woven Fabrics

Abstract

A mechanical model for the lateral compression of woven fabrics is derived from Van Wyk's compression law for fiber assemblies. The pressure ( P) and thickness (v) relationship is P = a/( v - v')3. The parameter v' refers to the core of the fabric, which is incompressible over the pressure range 2-5000 gf/cm 2. The parameter a refers to the compressible surface layers and is dependent on the mass of fibers in the surface layers and their orientation. A comparison is made of the results obtained with the KES-F fabric compression tester and the standard fabric thickness tester. The energy of compression is proportional to the cube root of the parameter a. The compressibility of the fabric is proportional to the energy of compression per unit volume of fabric. The changes that occur in the fabric surface layers during a typical fabric finishing process are investigated.