New Materials: Research On New Textiles That Are Not Easy To Wrinkle

Like all composites, textile composites consist of one constituent material (usually thermoplastic) or a combination of two materials reinforced with woven, knitted or woven fabrics. They are valued for their strength and durability, as well as their quality, which largely depends on the integrity of the textile components.

As with traditional fabrics, mistakes in processing, production or the material itself may lead to wrinkling of dry fabrics in fabric composites. Abbas Milani, a professor at UBC's oekenagan Institute of engineering and one of the researchers involved in the work, said the mistake could change the final product and even reduce its strength by as much as 50%.

In the course of the study, the researchers studied various ways to reduce or eliminate wrinkles. They found that using custom biaxial clamps to pull the material in both directions simultaneously can stretch the fabric.

However, they admit that their approach does have risks.

"The challenge is to avoid unnecessary fiber dislocation or fiber breakage while capturing out of face wrinkles," said Armin Rashidi, another graduate student on the team "Manufacturers using these types of composites are seeking more information about their mechanical properties, especially in the case of combined loads.