Research and Comparison of Numerical Simulation of Draping and Buckling about Woven Fabric and Knitted Fabric

Draping and buckling of woven fabric and knitted fabric are simulated with finite element method under gravity load, and the difference between them is analyzed. In the process of simulation, micro-mechanical models of woven fabric and knitted fabric that characterize the special properties of fabric due to their structures are used. The fabric sheet is discretized with 8-node shell elements which are specially designed to describe the large rotation of fabric sheet during draping. The buckling modes of the fabric sheet are analyzed, their postbuckling deformations are evaluated, and experiments on draping and buckling of a square fabric sheet are also carried out. The simulated results are in good agreement with the experimental observations. The research results indicate that subjected to the same load, knitted fabric is easier to buckle than woven fabric and the former deformation is much more than the latter one composed of the same threads. The work paves the way for developing the virtual trial system of garments.