Effect of Manufacturing Parameters on the Tensile Properties and Yarn Damage of Glass Fiber Warp-knitted Net Preforms

Abstract

Knitted fabric reinforcements gain interest in the composite industry for their excellent drapability, impact resistance, and net-shape manufacturability. Much research on the mechanical properties of knitted fabric reinforced thermoset and thermoplastic composites are available in the literature. However, to reduce the complexity in analysis and calculation, the loop architectures studied in these researches, either weft-knit or warp-knit, were very simple and lack of diversity. Additionally, limited attention has been given to the glass yarn damage during knitting, which have been proved to have a significant effect on the performance of the final composites. In this article, six-bar warp-knitted net preforms fabricated of glass plied yarns were studied. Eleven kinds of net preforms with different lapping movements, different take-up values, and different run-in ratios were fabricated and their mechanical performances as well as yarn damage during knitting were evaluated. The results showed that yarn damage and preform performance are highly related with the manufacture parameters from which optimum machine settings for each kind of preform could be delivered.

Keywords

warp-knitted preform net structure composite mechanical properties glass fiber yarn damage.

References

Hull, D. and Clyne, T.W. (1996). An Introduction to Composite Materials, 2nd edn, Cambridge Solid State Science Series, Cambridge University Press, London.

Van Vuure, A.W. , Ko, F.K. et al. (2003). Net-shape Knitting for Complex Composite Preforms, Textile Research Journal, 73(1): 1-10.

Khondker, O.A. , Leong, K.H. et al. (2005). Impact and Compression-After-Impact Performance of Weft-Knitted Glass Textile Composites, Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 36(5): 638-648.

Xue, P. , Yu, T.X. et al. (2002). Tensile Properties and Meso-Scale Mechanism of Weft Knitted Textile Composites for Energy Absorption, Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 33(1): 113-123.

Duhovic, M. and Bhattacharyya, D. (2006). Simulating the Deformation Mechanisms of Knitted Fabric Composites, Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 37(11): 1897-1915.

Weimer, C. , Preller, T. et al. (2000). Approach to Net-shape Preforming using Textile Technologies. Part II: Holes, Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 31(11): 1269-1277.

Leong, K.H. , Ramakrishna, S. et al. (2000). The Potential Of Knitting For Engineering Composites-A Review, Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 31(3): 197-220.

Khondker, O.A. , Fukui, T. et al. (2004). Fabrication and Mechanical Properties of Aramid/Nylon Plain Knitted Composites, Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 35(10): 1195-1205.

Huysmans, G. , Verpoest, I. et al. (2001). A Damage Model for Knitted Fabric Composites, Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 32(10): 1465-1475.

10.

Gommers, B. , Verpoest, I. et al. (1998). Analysis of Knitted Fabric Reinforced Composites: Part II. Stiffness and Strength, Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 29(12): 1589-1601.

11.

Khondker, O.A. , Yang, X. et al. (2006). Mechanical Properties of Textile-Inserted PP/PP Knitted Composites Using Injection-Compression Molding , Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing , 37(12): 2285-2299.

12.

Gommers, B. , Verpoest, I. et al. (1998). Analysis of Knitted Fabric Reinforced Composites: Part I. Fibre Orientation Distribution, Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 29(12): 1579-1588.

13.

Lee, L. , Rudov-Clark, S. et al. (2002). Effect of Weaving Damage on the Tensile Properties of Three-Dimensional Woven Composites, Composite Structures, 57(1-4): 405-413.

14.

Hu, H. and Zhu, M. (2005). A Study of the Degree of Breakage of Glass Filament Yarns During The Weft Knitting Process, AUTEX Research Journal , 5(3).

15.

Chou, S. , Chen, H.C. et al. (1992). BMI Resin Composites Reinforced with 3 D Carbon-fibre Fabrics, Composites Science and Technology , 43(2): 117-128.

16.

Guess, T.R. and Reedy, E.D. (1985). Comparison of Interlocked Fabric and Laminated Fabric Kevlar 49/Epoxy Composites, Journal of Composites Technology and Research, 7: 136-142.

17.

Rudov-Clark, S. , Mouritz, A.P. et al. (2003). Fibre Damage in the Manufacture of Advanced Three-Dimensional Woven Composites , Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing, 34(10): 963-970.

18.

Fletcher, H.M. and Roberts, S.H. (1956). The Geometry and Properties of Two-Bar Tricot Fabrics, Textile Research Journal, 26(11): 889-899.

19.

GB/T 4925-1985 Testing Method for Breaking Load and Elongation of Netting of Synthetic Fibre, Genreal Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China, Beijing.

20.

ISO 1806 : 2002 Fishing Nets - Determination of Mesh Breaking Force of Netting, December, 2002.

21.

ASTM D578-05 Standard Specification for Glass Fiber Strands, Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol. 07.01, West Conshohocken, PA .

22.

Brandt, J. , Drechsler, K. et al. (1996). Mechanical Performance of Composites Based on Various Three-Dimensional Woven-Fibre Preforms, Composites Science and Technology, 56(3): 381-386.

23.

Raz, S. (1987). Warp Knitting Production, Melliand Textilberichte, Heidelberg.

24.

Liu, X.M. , Chen, N.L. et al. (2006). A Study of the Knittability of the Glass Filament Yarns. Part I: Yarn/Metal Abrasion Damage , In: 2006 Autex World Conference, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA.