Characterization of a knitted fabric reinforced elastomer composite

The majority of knitted fabric composites reported in the literature are ba sed on rigid matrix materials, either thermoset or thermoplastic polymers. This paper describes the fabrication and characterization of a knitted fabr ic reinforced elastomer composite. The composite was made from a combinatio n of weft knitted polyester fiber interlock fabric and polyurethane matrix. The research work reported in this paper includes two parts, i.e., experim ental part and theoretical part. The experimental characterization comprise s tensile testing of polyester fiber and polyurethane matrix, tensile testi ng of composite in wale and course directions, and determination of the fib er volume fraction in the composite. The theoretical investigation includes development of a suitable geometrical model to specify the fiber orientati on and prediction of the initial elastic constants of the composite materia l. The predicted elastic properties were validated by comparing with the ex perimental data.