Optimization of electromagnetic shielding of three-dimensional orthogonal woven hybrid fabrics in ku band frequency region by response surface methodology

Electromagnetic shielding (EMS) has become the necessity of the present era due to enormous expansion in electronic devices accountable to emit electromagnetic radiation. The principal target of this paper is to originate three-dimensional (3D) orthogonal fabrics with conductive hybrid weft yarn and to determine their electromagnetic shielding. DREF-III core-spun yarn using copper filament in the core and polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) fiber on the sheath and fabric constructed of such yarn has a promising electromagnetic shielding characteristic. Box–Behnken experimental design has been employed to prepare various samples to investigate the electromagnetic shielding efficiency of 3D orthogonal woven structures. The orthogonal fabric samples were tested in an electromagnetic Ku frequency band using free space measurement system (FSMS) to estimate absorbance, reflectance, transmittance, and electromagnetic shielding. The increase in copper core filament diameter and hybrid yarn linear density enhances the EMS of orthogonal fabric. Statistical analysis has been done to bring out the effect and interaction of various yarn and fabric variables on EMS. Metal filament diameter, orientation, sheath fibers percentage, and fabric constructional parameters significantly affected electromagnetic shielding efficiency. The inferences of this study can be applied in other 3D structures like angle interlock, spacer fabrics for curtains, and coverings for civilians and military applications.

Effect of Silicone Inlaid Materials on Reinforcing Compressive Strength of Weft-Knitted Spacer Fabric for Cushioning Applications

Spacer fabrics are commonly used as cushioning materials. They can be reinforced by using a knitting method to inlay materials into the connective layer which reinforces the structure of the fabric. The compression properties of three samples that were fabricated by inlaying three different types of silicone-based elastic tubes and one sample without inlaid material have been investigated. The mechanical properties of the elastic tubes were evaluated and their relationship to the compression properties of the inlaid spacer fabrics was analysed. The compression behaviour of the spacer fabrics at an initial compressive strain of 10% is not affected by the presence of the inlaid tubes. The Young’s modulus of the inlaid tubes shows a correlation with fabric compression. Amongst the inlaid fabric samples, the spacer fabric inlaid with highly elastic silicone foam tubes can absorb more compression energy, while that inlaid with silicone tubes of higher tensile strength has higher compressive stiffness.

Mechanical properties of the surface membrane of lattice spacer-fabric flexible inflatable composites

The surface membrane plays a vital role in bearing loads of flexible inflatable composites. In this work, the mechanical properties of the upper and lower surfaces of inflatable composites and spacer fabrics were studied. It focused on the changes in mechanical properties of surfaces of spacer fabrics with different structures after coating and damage characteristics. The results show that the PVC resin improves the mechanical properties of the surface, which penetrates into the structure to make the yarns bond to each other and adhere to the resin on the surface. And compared with knitted structures, composite membranes with a woven structure have the characteristics of specific strength. This provides data accumulation for performance research of flexible inflatable composites, finite element calculation analysis, and the experimental reference for broadening the application in military pontoons and marching tents.

Recent Efforts in Modeling and Simulation of Textiles

In many textiles and fiber structures, the behavior of the material is determined by the structural arrangements of the fibers, their thickness and cross-section, as well as their material properties. Textiles are thin plates made of thin long yarns in frictional contact with each other that are connected via a rule defined by a looping diagram. The yarns themselves are stretchable or non-stretchable. All these structural parameters of a textile define its macroscopic behavior. Its folding is determined by all these parameters and the kind of the boundary fixation or loading direction. The next influencing characteristic is the value of the loading. The same textile can behave similar to a shell and work just for bending, or behave as a membrane with large tension deformations under different magnitudes of the loading forces. In our research, bounds on the loading and frictional parameters for both types of behavior are found. Additionally, algorithms for the computation of effective textile properties based on the structural information are proposed. Further focus of our research is the nature of folding, induced by pre-strain in yarns and some in-plane restriction of the textile movements, or by the local knitting or weaving pattern and the yarn’s cross-sections. Further investigations concern different applications with spacer fabrics. Structural parameters influencing the macroscopic fabric behavior are investigated and a way for optimization is proposed. An overview of our published mathematical and numerical papers with developed algorithms is given and our numerical tools based on these theoretical results are demonstrated.

Design and manufacture of three-dimensional auxetic warp-knitted spacer fabrics based on re-entrant and rotating geometries

Warp knitting technology is a fabric-forming technologies that is very suitable to fabricate three-dimensional (3D) auxetic fabrics due to its high efficiency and powerful pattern designing possibilities. In this study, two typical auxetic geometries, namely the re-entrant hexagonal network and rotating square solids, were selected as the design prototypes for the design and manufacture of 3D warp-knitted spacer fabrics. While two 3D warp-knitted spacer fabric structures with representative units of different sizes designed based on the re-entrant hexagonal geometry were manufactured by using a RD7 double needle bar Raschel machine with seven yarn guide bars, two 3D jacquard warp-knitted spacer fabrics with different base fabric structures designed based on the rotating squares geometry were fabricated by using a RDPJ4/2 double needle bar jacquard machine with two ground yarn guide bars and four jacquard guide bars. The Poisson’s ratios of these 3D warp-knitted fabrics in the course direction and wale direction were evaluated respectively through constant-rate tensile tests. The results revealed that the re-entrant hexagonal fabric structure with double chain stitches has auxetic behavior across a wide range of tensile strains along the course direction, while the rotating square fabric structure with elastic chain stitches as the base is auxetic within a narrow range of tensile strains along the wale direction. The study provides an alternative method to directly produce auxetic warp-knitted spacer fabrics through a single knitting process instead of using an additional post-compression and heat-setting process.

The study of hydrophobicity and oleophilicity of 3D weft-knitted spacer fabrics integrated with silica aerogels

The interest in multifunctional textile materials has been increased due to the health and safety measures of living beings, especially in severe conditions. Therefore, this study investigated the hydrophobicity, oil sorption capacity, and bending properties of untreated or uncoated and treated or coated 3D weft-knitted spacer fabric samples (92% polyester/8% spandex), i.e. sample 1, sample 2, and sample 3, having thicknesses of 2 mm (300 gm−2), 3 mm (350 gm−2), and 4 mm (540 gm−2), with silica aerogels (SAs) through the sol-gel method. SEM, FTIR-ATR, and surface roughness test of fabric samples were analyzed to comprehend the influence of SAs. The experimental results revealed the excellent hydrophobicity and oleophilicity of all the treated 3D weft-knitted spacer fabric samples, providing a higher water contact angle (CA) 142 ± 0.84° and an oil sorption capacity 7.51 ± 0.08g/g and 6.88 ± 0.06g/g for vegetable oil and engine oil, especially of sample 2 owing to the most silica particles. The statistical analysis also demonstrated a significant performance (P < 0.05) of treated spacer fabric samples at the 0.05 level. Thus, these fabrics are suitable for an industrial application of hydrophobic and oleophilic properties.