New Approach to Assessing Fabric Drape Based on the Fractal Dimension.

The usefulness of the fractal dimension of drape (D) to explain the shape of fabrics acquired when allowed to fall freely under the effect of gravity was assessed by using the box-counting method to calculate it for comparison with the drape ratio (%DR) of 36 commercial woven fabrics spanning a wide range of composition, weave type and mass per square meter. These two parameters were found to be highly correlated with %DR, varying over wide ranges and D over narrow ranges. Based on the results, the fractal nature of the drape does not significantly improve on the information about the drape shape in woven fabrics provided by the well-known indicator "drape ratio" (%DR). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]