CHARACTERIZATION OF THE DRAPABILITY OF NONCRIMP FABRICS

摘要

Due to their excellent lightweight potential, fiber-reinforced plastics (FRP) are used increasinglyrnin a wide range of technical areas, most notably in the aircraft, wind energy and automotivernindustries. There is a trend in the use of preformed textile semi-finished fabrics (preform) forrnFRP components made out of warp-knitted non-crimp fabrics (NCF) because they are well suitedrnto further processing. Drapability is defined as the spherical deformability of textile planarrnmaterial without structural folds.The drapability of NCF can still be specified insufficiently andrntherefore restricts the application of these high performance textiles.rnFor the determination of the drapability of NCF several test methods like “ITADrape” [1] at thernInstitut fuer Textiltechnik (ITA) have been developed in the last several years. ITA has sustainedrnthese methods by continuous improvement and innovation. A new image analyses system isrncurrently being integrated, enhancing reproducibility. A further target is to find representativerncharacteristics for design and production of complex performs.rnThis paper discusses the historical development of the characterization of the drapability ofrntechnical textiles. Furthermore, it shows the latest expertise and presents future trends in therncharacterization of the drapability of NCF.