A new method for determination of Poisson’s ratio of woven fabric at higher stresses

Determination of Poisson’s ratio and shear module of complex, nonlinear elastic material, such as woven fabric, is a challenge for researchers in the field of textile mechanics. In the standard method of determining the Poisson’s ratio, the transverse fabric strain is measured by a 1% tensile extension. In this way, there is no information about changing the Poisson’s ratio at higher tensile extensions, and the methodology itself is unsuitable for larger extensions because of woven fabric buckling. In this research, a device has been designed, which can be built on a dynamometer and which has the ability to measure transverse forces in fabric during tensile test. A mechanical model is developed from which it is possible to calculate Poisson’s ratio throughout the fabric stress–strain curve.