Shear Characterization of Reinforcement Fabrics using Textile-applied printed Strain Sensors

Abstract This paper presents the application of printed strain sensors during the characterization of textile forming mechanisms. Using the example of trellis shearing, these sensors are applied to a fabric and shearing is performed in a picture-frame based shearing test rig. As the textile shears, opposite corners of the cruciform specimen start to move apart, respectively towards each according to the movement of the crosshead. Thus, aligning the sensor properly to the 0° direction, its elongation can be directly correlated with the shearing of the textile. Furthermore, this work validates the measurement values of the sensor by comparing it with the theoretical values calculated according to the picture frame kinematics. Additionally, an optical analysis of the fiber angles during shearing is being performed in order to examine a possible influence of the sensors on the fabric’s deformation behavior. This is supplemented by the evaluation of the locking angles, which are analyzed on the basis of the shear-force measurements.