Textile mechanics

TexGen has been used to create the geometry of fabrics for meso-scale textile mechanics modelling. Meshing can either be done directly within TexGen or geometry can be exported to the two most common CAD exchange file formats, IGES and STEP. Alternatively Python scripts can be used to transfer geometry to specific third party applications such as ABAQUS.

Mechanical models of commercial fabrics have been created in which textiles were meshed and then exported to the ABAQUS finite element analysis (FEA) package. Deformations were predicted for fabric unit cells in tension, compression, shear and bending, utilising their measured equivalents for individual yarns as input data. Fig 1 shows a modelled deformed twill weave unit cell in tension, compression, shear and bending. Validations of the FE predictions for the mechanical properties against experimental data are shown in Fig 2.

• Figure 1. Deformed twill weave unit cell
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  Tension

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  Compression

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  Shear

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  Bending

• Figure 2. Experimental data versus FE predictions
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  Tension

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  Compression

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  Shear

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  Bending

References

1. Hua Lin, Louise P Brown and Andrew C Long, "Modelling and Simulating Textile Structures using TexGen", Advanced Materials Research Vol. 331 (2011) pp 44-47

2. H. Lin, X. Zeng, M. Sherburn, A. C. Long and M. J. Clifford. "Automated geometric modelling of textile structures", Textile Research Journal, v82, n16, 2012, pp. 1689-1702.

3. H Lin, M J Clifford, A C Long, M Sherburn. “Finite element modelling of fabric shear”, Modelling and Simulation in Materials Science and Engineering, Vol.17, n1, 2009.

4. H. Lin, A.C. Long, M. Sherburn, M. J. Clifford, "Modelling of mechanical behaviour for woven fabrics under combined loading", International Journal of material forming, Spring/ESAFORM 2008.

5. H Lin, M Sherburn, J Crookston, A C Long, M J Clifford, I A Jones. “Finite element modelling of fabric compression”, Modelling and Simulation in Materials Science and Engineering, Vol.16, n3, 2008.