This article presents a review of technical fabrics testing methods used by the authors on the basis of their experience with research on properties of polytetrefluoroethylene-coated fabrics used for Forest Opera in Sopot (Poland). First, the different types of testing methods used for description of mechanical properties (uniaxial tensile tests, biaxial tensile tests and shear tests) of technical woven fabrics are described. The authors present the collection of test methods and discuss the results of these tests for different fabrics. Finally, the effects of temperature on mechanical properties are studied.
OttoF. Tensile structures, Cambridge: MIT Press, 1962.
2.
SauerRADuongTXCorbettCJ. A computational formulation for constrained solid and liquid membranes considering isogeometric finite elements. Comput Methods Appl Mech Eng2012. in press.
3.
AmbroziakAKłosowskiP. Review of constitutive models for technical woven fabrics in finite element analysis. AATCC Rev2011; 5–6: 58–67.
4.
PN-EN ISO 1421 Rubber- or plastics-coated fabrics – Determination of tensile strength and elongation at break.
5.
ASTM D751 Standard Test Methods for Coated Fabrics.
6.
AmbroziakA. Analysis of non-linear elastic material properties of PVC-coated fabric Panama. Task Quarterly2005; 9(2): 167–178.
7.
KatoSYoshinoTMinamiH. Formulation of constitutive equations for fabric membranes based on the concept of fabric lattice model. Eng Struct1999; 21: 691–708.
KłosowskiPZagubieńAWoźnicaK. Investigation on rheological properties of technical fabric “Panama”. Arch Appl Mech2004; 73: 661–681.
10.
KłosowskiPKomarWWoźnicaK. Finite element description of nonlinear viscoelastic behaviour of technical fabric. Constr. Build Mater2009; 23(2): 1133–1140.
11.
ReinhardtHW. On the biaxial testing and strength of coated fabrics. Exp Mech1976; 16(2): 71–74.
12.
BridgensBGoslingPJouG-T. Inter-laboratory comparison of biaxial tests for architectural textiles. J Textile Inst2012; 103(7): 706–718.
13.
DayAS. IASS symposium proceedings: shells, membranes and space frames. Stress strain equations for non-linear behaviour of coated woven fabrics, Osaka, Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1986, pp. 17–24.
14.
BridgensBNGoslingPD. Direct stress-strain representation for coated fabrics. Comput Struct2004; 82: 1913–1927.
15.
ParganaJBLloyd-SmithDIzzuddinBA. Advanced material model for coated fabrics used in tensioned fabric structures. Eng Struct2007; 29: 1323–1336.
16.
KumazawaHSusukiIMoritaT. Mechanical properties of coated weave fabrics under biaxial loads. Trans Jpn Soc Aero Space Sci2005; 48(160): 117–123.
17.
GalliotCLuchsingerRH. A simple model describing the non-linear biaxial tensile behaviour of PVC-coated polyester fabrics for use in finite element analysis. Compos Struct2009; 90: 438–447.
MohammedULekakouCDongL. Shear deformation and micromechanics of woven fabrics. Composites: Part A2000; 31: 299–308.
20.
CaoJRBoissePChenJ. Characterization of mechanical behavior of woven fabrics: experimental methods and benchmark results. Composites Part A2008; 39(6): 1037–1053.
21.
GalliotCLuchsingerRH. A shear ramp: a new test method for the investigation of coated fabric shear behavior - part II: experimental validation. Composites Part A2010; 41(12): 1750–1759.
22.
Vysochina K and Bigaud D. Identification of shear stiffness for soft orthotropic textile composites under biaxial loading. Composites in Construction 2005 – Third International Conference, pp. 1119–1125.
23.
LebrunGBureauMNDenaultJ. Evaluation of bias-extension and picture-frame test methods for the measurement of intraply shear properties of PP/glass commingled fabrics. Compos Struct2003; 61(4): 341–352.
24.
PengXQCaoJ. A continuum mechanics-based non-orthogonal constitutive model for woven composite fabrics. Composites: Part A2005; 36: 859–874.
25.
KawabataS. The standarisation and analysis of hand evaluation, Japan: HESC, The Textile Machinery Society of Japan, 1980.
