Bending Stiffness of Knitted Fabrics - Comparison of Test Methods

The bending stiffness of a textile is a feature determining comprehensive indicators such as fabric drapability and handle. Most methods of assessing the bending stiffness of textiles are based on the principle of the determination of the strain and force dependence. The simplest are methods involving the unidirectional straining force, which do not consider the anisotropy of the fabric’s physical properties. However, methods that allow the determination of multi-directional stiffness provide a more complete assessment. The aim of this work was to comparatively evaluate three testing methods that utilise different measurement principles. The experimental design included a unidirectional force action (PN-73/ P0431), multidirectional force action (ASTM-D 4032-94), and bending stiffness testing by the direct determination of Young’s modulus by the method used at Kiev University. The methods analysed were assessed by statistical tests. Knitted fabrics with a net stitch were used as the test materials.