Abstract
Manifold variations of the mechanical behavior of structural woven fabrics appear in the first load cycles. Nevertheless, invariable states, i.e., mechanically saturated states, can be approached by multiple monotonous load cycle biaxial tests. In a state acceptably close to the ideal saturated state, the stress–strain paths reveal the elastic share of the initially inelastic stress–strain paths of woven fabrics. In this paper, the mechanical saturation behavior of two types of PTFE-coated woven glass fiber fabrics is examined and compared to the recently reported saturation behavior of a PVC-coated polyester fabric. With the help of the saturation test data, an extrapolation function is developed that facilitates an estimation of late cycle stiffness behavior based on measured early cycle behavior. Furthermore, the considerable impact of late cycle properties on structural analyses is shown exemplarily in the numerical simulation of a prestressed fabric structure by comparing results achieved from late and early load cycle stiffness parameters.
Highlights
Prestressed membrane structures increasingly deployed as roofs or facades are frequently made from woven coated fabrics
In the framework of architectural applications, they are coated with materials like plasticized polyvinylchloride (PVC) or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) to make them—among other properties—waterproof and resistant to environmental impacts
An extrapolation function is developed that facilitates an estimation of late cycle stiffness behavior based on measured early cycle behavior
Summary
Prestressed membrane structures increasingly deployed as roofs or facades are frequently made from woven coated fabrics. A recent advancement in nonlinear elastic modeling was presented by the authors [8] achieving good fits with four easy-to-handle stiffness parameters This contribution aims to support the further development of elastic and visco-elastoplastic material models for orthotropic fabrics by extraction and demonstration of the late cycle behavior component. It is illustrated that the method can be applied with acceptable accuracy for an estimation of the saturation of different fabrics made of the same material components, i.e., for instance the behavior of a type III glass-PTFE fabric can be estimated with test data of a type IV glass-PTFE fabric It is exemplarily shown by a numerical simulation of a prestressed fabric structure that stiffness properties gained from different load cycles can lead to considerably different structural analysis results.
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