Mechanical Properties of Warp-Knitted, Fabric-Reinforced Composites

A study of the mechanical properties of basic warp-knitted, fabric-rein forced composites is presented. Three basic knitted structures have been adopted. It is found that knitted structures greatly affect the in-plane anisotropic nature, tensile strength, and modulus of warp-knitted, fabric-reinforced composites. The density of the knitted structure, which influences the tensile properties has also been taken into account. From the observation of fracture surface, two fracture modes are suggested: fracture that occurs at the extreme low volume fraction region in the course direction, and fracture that occurs due to stress concentration at the loop interlocking region in the wale direction