Abstract
The buckling behavior of fabrics initially lying on a horizontal surface has been studied in a three-part series. Parts I and II developed theoretical models that included the effects of fabric weight and nonlinear stiffness properties, respectively. Part III is an experimental study designed to validate the theoretical models. A special apparatus was developed to measure the load-deflection curves of a fabric in buckling. Two materials, a plain weave fabric and a cellulose film, were selected to study the effect of fabric weight and nonlinear bending stiffness on the buckling behavior. The ex perimental results compared favorably with the theoretical predictions. The model that included the fabric weight and realistic nonlinear bending stiffness most accurately represented the actual load-deflection behavior. The model and the experimental results showed that the force to initiate buckling increased dramatically as the weight factor or the nonlinearity of the bending stiffness increased.
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