2B3_0097_ TENSILE PROPERTIES CHARACTERIZATION OF DRY HIGH-MOLECULAR-WEIGHT POLYETHYLENE 3D WARP INTERLOCK FABRICS FOR COMPOSITE REINFORCEMENTS

Abstract

In the present work, five 3D warp interlock fabrics (3DWIFs) with stuffer warp yarns were made from 135Tex linear density Spectra® 900, high-molecular-weight polyethylene (HMWPE) yarns, with the same warp density (10 ends/cm) and weft density (40 picks/cm) and manufactured on the same dobby loom. After production, several mechanical and physical measurements are done and especially tensile tests to understand their final behaviour with respect to process and product parameters. The effects of fabric density and yarn density on tensile properties of the fabrics, in the warp and weft directions respectively, have been investigated. Besides, other influent factors as yarn crimps are also discussed in this paper.