Measuring the shear-tension coupling of engineering fabrics

Modelling the forming process of engineering fabrics and textile composites using a mechanical approach, such as FEM, requires characterisation of material behaviour. Using Picture Frame (PF) tests, several previous studies have reported a coupling between in-plane tension and fabric shear compliance. However, characterising this behaviour accurately has proven problematic due to the sensitivity of the PF test to small fabric misalignments in the test rig, prompting innovative solutions such as the use of load-cells mounted on the side bars of the PF rig to measure in-plane tension during testing. This paper focuses on an alternative testing technique, the Biaxial Bias Extension test, as a means to investigate this coupling. The approach has several benefits including simple equipment requirements, the ability to vary sample dimensions and boundary conditions. The main difficulty lies in extracting the material contribution to the recorded signal. To do this, an experimental method is demonstrated using two very different textiles; glass fabric and self-reinforced polypropylene both plain weaves. The latter is challenging to characterise and was chosen due to its high propensity to wrinkle at room temperature. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.