Investigation of tearing mechanisms of woven textile

Abstract Tearing resistance is an important parameter for evaluating the reliability of textile structures, especially in the case of protective materials. In order to better understand the individual contribution of the different mechanisms involved in the tearing process, a study of the relation between the fabric and yarn properties characterizing these mechanisms and the tearing energy has been carried out. For that purpose, polyester fabrics with two types of weave patterns and various values of filling yarn density and linear density were characterized in terms of tongue tear energy, yarn and fabric modulus, breaking force and elongation at break, yarn slippage, and yarn jamming. Data for all tested fabrics relied on a unique master curve when the tearing energy was expressed as a function of the transverse yarn slippage force. This demonstrates the strong contribution of transverse yarn slippage to the tearing process, a mechanism which has generally been overlooked in previous works on tearing. Relationships between the tearing energy and the other properties characteristics of the mechanisms involved in tearing of woven textiles were also observed. These results build the path toward the development of models for the tearing energy of textile structures. POLYM. COMPOS., 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers