Predictive model for designing coated woven fabrics in structures
Fabric structures have provided shelter for thousands of years, but in the last century modern, synthetic, and woven engineering fabrics have become widespread.
Project leader
Professor Peter Gosling
Christopher Iliffe
Dates
2011-2014
Project staff
Dr Ben Bridgens
Professor Peter Gosling
Description
The design and analysis of these fabrics is difficult because of their complex response mechanisms to biaxial and shear stresses in the plane of the fabric.
Current material models 'represent' material response instead of predicting it. Representing a fabric's properties can lead to problems when it becomes necessary to extrapolate beyond the range of the initial data set.
The aim of this project was to develop a model to design coated woven fabrics with specified mechanical properties using a fully predictive model, not a representative model. The project aimed to use case studies to demonstrate the model's utility.