Development of apparatus to evaluate cutting resistance of protective fabrics

In recent decades, attention has been focused on the design of protective soft fabrics against cutting. The anticipated textiles should shield the wearer's body from threats caused by pointed or sharp-edged objects, such as a knife, sharp blade, or spike. Therefore, as it is of great importance to design slash-resistant fabrics, it is also necessary to have an apparatus that gives the possibility to simulate the conditions of cutting processes of the protective fabric. The main objective of the present work is to develop a new apparatus to test the slash-proof materials used in soft protective armor or gloves. The apparatus can test the material with different cutting angles, different speeds, and various normal forces applied to the sample at the point of contact between the material and the cutting blade, with the capability to change all the parameters affecting the cutting force. This study aims to develop a cutting apparatus to study the cutting mechanism of textile materials with the capability to change all the parameters affecting the cutting force. The cutting angle and cutting speed have a significant effect on the maximum cutting force; however, the latter showed a high decrease of the maximum cutting force.