Abstract
In this study, tensile behavior of tubular braids has been studied using energy method. Tensile response of the braid is investigated in two steps: Step I, geometrical deformation of braid structure; Step II, mechanical response of the constituent yarn. In step I, the effect of geometrical deformation on the tensile behavior of braid is considered. A geometrical model is generated to obtain the structural parameters of braid in deformed state and used to build a mechanical model. In step II, the effect of mechanical properties of yarns on the tensile behavior of braid is investigated. For this purpose, a straight-line model is presented for geometry of the unit cell of 1/1 pattern braids. Based on the constituent yarn characteristics and geometrical model, a predictive model for the Young’s modulus of braid is developed. Theoretical results of Young’s modulus of the braid are compared to the experimental data reported in the literature. Results showed that the generated model has reasonable accuracy