Analysis of circular braiding process - Part 2: Mechanics analysis of the circular braiding process and experiment

The final structure of a braid is a consequence of force interactions among yarns in the convergent zone. In Part 1, the influence of friction forces on the final braided structure was discussed via kinematic analysis. A tran sformation from a 3-D cone to a 2-D plane was made for the mechanics analys is. A mechanics model is proposed in this paper to determine the braid angl e by considering interlacing forces. Equilibrium equations for the braining process ave deduced. A Newton-Raphson method is used to solve the nonlinea r algebraic equation set. Experiments have been conducted to produce braids at different machine speeds and with different tensions, and reveal that t he mechanics model is potentially a better predictor of final braid structu re than the kinematic analysis.