Modeling of Impact Damage of Sewing Machine Needle on Woven Fabric by Finite Element Method

The purpose of the present work is to develop a computational model to simulate the effect of sewing machine needle impact on woven fabrics. This research presents a finite element model of woven fabric using commercial finite element software (ABAQUS 6.8). In the model, the orthotropic properties of the fabric, the elastic nature of the yarn, the sliding contact between yarns and yarn breakage are included while employing solid elements. Experimental works are also performed to compare with the simulation results. In order to quantify the damage of woven fabrics punched by sewing needles in experimental and simulation work, a damage index is introduced. Same trends in experimental and simulation results reveal that the model can quantitatively differentiate the damage of fabrics impacted by sewing machine needles.