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Abstract:
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This study examined the effects of fabric construction on the compressive behavior
of spacer fabrics. Many studies have been conducted on spacer knitted fabrics, but
most were proprietary in nature and performed by individual textile manufacturers.
Currently, little published research exists which may assist manufacturers to predict the
behavior of spacer fabrics.
The impact of different fabric knit constructions on the compressive behavior of the
fabric is not fully understood. Understanding the behavior of these constructions would
help predict the fabric I s compressive behavior and enable the engineering of fabrics to
meet specific performance characteristics. For this research, the compressive behavior
of differently constructed spacer fabrics was evaluated. Differences in compressive
response were related to differences in fabric construction. Elements of the fabric
construction that were changed were the motion of the guide bars, the type of loop
used, the inclination of the spacer yarn, and the trick plate gap. The knowledge gained
from testing the compressive behavior of spacer fabrics was applied to develop a model
that can be used to estimate the compressive stiffness of multiple spacer fabric
cons tructions.
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