Effect of design parameters on the cushioning property of cellular fabric composites

Abstract

In this study, a new design method for a three-dimensional hollow structure woven fabric was proposed and the effect of cellular size on the cushioning property of the fabric-reinforced polyurethane elastomer composite was investigated. The fabric structure was analyzed from a cross-section view and the theoretical equations for the warp and weft yarns were proposed, using the fabric layer and cellular size as parameters. Nine kinds of fabrics with different layers and cellular size were fabricated with a Jacquard loom and reinforced with polyurethane elastomer to yield fabric composites. Then the effect of cellular size on the cushioning property of the fabric composites was discussed. The results showed that upon increasing the cellular size, the cellular fabric composite exhibited lower compression resistance. Moreover, the stress at a strain of 65% and the energy absorbed in the loading process were increased with decreasing cellular size. Moreover, the compression resilience was also changed with the cellular size. It can be concluded that the cellular size had an important effect on the cushioning property of the fabric composite, which can be considered as a design parameter for cushion material based on its usages.