Abstract
The last 65 years have seen a development of modelling of the structural mechanics of textiles at the same time as computation moved from primitive calculations to powerful software and hardware. The development of means of access to computing is described. Early work could only deal with numerical solutions at the end of analyses of simple, general models. Now it is possible to follow individual fibre elements in space and time. The paper reviews topics covered by myself and my associates in the University of Manchester and elsewhere after my retirement: fibre fine structure; yarn mechanics; fabric mechanics; product mechanics; and rope modeling. The final part of the paper discusses modeling for the 21st century, including the problem of the “virtual catwalk” and the development of software for 3D fabrics used in composites. In contrast to aesthetic design where computer aided design (CAD) has become the common mode, the industry has not taken to modeling for technical textiles. This means that there is a lack of creative interchange between academia and industry. CAD is bound to come, but it is not possible to say when and how.
Published Version
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