Evaluation of the Fabric Formability by Concentrated Loading Method

This work exploits the concentrated loading method (C.L.M) for the evaluation of woven fabric formability. A total of 21 randomly selected woven fabrics are tested by Lindberg and C.L.M methods and the results are compared. The correlation between calculated formability (bending rigidity/low initial modulus) and the measured features extracted from the concentrated loading curves indicates the possibility of measuring of formability of woven fabrics by C.L.M. Among the features extracted from the concentrated loading curves, the initial slope of the load extension curve (IS), the ending slope of the unloading curve of the concentrated loading method (ES) and the gap area below the buckling (GABB) are highly correlated to the calculated formability of the fabrics. The correlation results indicate that testing the fabric samples under C.L.M can be used for direct estimation of the formability of the woven fabrics without requiring two different laboratory testers (bending and tensile)