Parametric study of the weave combination on the moldability of dome-shaped fabrics

This paper aims to investigate the relationship of the weave combination and the moldability for dome-shaped fabrics. The weave combination plays a fundamental role in composing the dome shape for the dome-shaped fabric. Twelve concentric-round patterns were designed according to different weave arrangements varied systematically. It is found that a better dome shape could be formed using the weave sequence with long floats in the outer circle and short floats in the inner circle, compared to the opposite weave sequence. This is because the weave with long floats is easy to shrink and the weave with short floats is easy to invade. The larger the shrinkage in the outer edge, the more area could be pulled forward to the center to form the dome. The dome effect could be further strengthened by the shrinkage of long floats in the middle circle of the concentric-round. In addition, the washing treatment could give a positive influence on the moldability, as the study result shows that the dome depth of specimens was better after washing than before washing.