Investigation of the Strength Loss of HMWPE Yarns During Manufacturing Process of 3D Warp Interlock Fabrics

This research paper presented recent advancements on the manufacturing technique of the 3D warp interlock fabrics (3DWIFs) as fibrous material. Four different types of 3DWIFs are designed by WiseTex© and DB-WEAVE software: Angle interlock/through-the-thickness binding (A/T), Angle interlock/layer-to-layer binding (A/L), Orthogonal interlock/through-the-thickness binding (O/T), Orthogonal interlock/ layer-to-layer binding (O/L). These kinds of 3DWIFs are woven by high molecular weight polyethylene (HMWPE) yarns with 50 twists per meter (tpm) on a dobby DORNIER weaving machine. The paper also presented and discussed the problems and solutions during the weaving process, such as regulating yarn tension. Besides, the yarn abrasion during the manufacturing process is studied. It was found that the average breaking force of weft yarns were reduced by 6.2—11.8%, the binding warp yarns after weaving are reduced by 2.8—8.9% and the yarn strength degradation of stuffer warp yarns is 9.9—15.2%.