Theoretical expression of compressibility behaviour of warp knitted spacer fabrics

Nowadays, 3-D spacer fabrics characteristics become a highly interested concept for textile researchers. These products have extensive application in automobile, locomotive, aerospace, building and other industries. Several techniques could be applied to produce spacer fabrics using woven, weft and warp knitting technology. Warp knitting is the most commonly used technology for production of spacer fabrics. Spacer fabrics present special characteristics compared to conventional textiles due to their wonderful porous 3-D structures. The compression resistance is a distinct feature beneficial for the structural stability of spacer fabrics, and it is proper to fulfil permanent or instant loading and recovery requirements. The goal of this research is to develop an theoretical model to predict the compressibility behaviour of warp knitted spacer fabric and compare it with experimental data. All required samples were produced on two needle bars Rachel warp knitting machine with different thickness, stitch densities and texture designs. The basic theory is based on modelling pile yarns as curve bar. The theoretical results related to the assumption of pile yarn as curve bar are closer to the experimental results of these spacer fabrics comparing to the previous theoretical models in literature