Characterization of a 3D Auxetic Warp-knitted Spacer Fabric by Synchrotron Radiation X-ray Computed Tomography

Auxetic fabrics have many potential applications in technical textiles. Auxetic 3D warp-knitted spacer fabric can be produced by adoption of some special geometrical configuration. Characterization of the geometrical configurations is of vital significance to understand their auxetic property. In this paper, a typical 3D auxetic warp-knitted spacer fabric was studied by synchrotron radiation x-ray computed tomography (SR-CT). Fiber distribution in the fabric was clearly obtained and different types of yarn were extracted separatively. 3D image reconstructed by synchrotron radiation X-ray computed tomography was consistent with the designed geometrical configuration. Besides, 3D model reconstructed lays the foundation for further numerical analysis by FEA.