DRAPE PREDICTION BY MEANS OF FINITE-ELEMENT ANALYSIS

The draping behaviour of fabric treated as an orthotropic shell membrane is predicted by using a geometric non-linear finite-element method, and the results are compared with actual behaviour. A drape tester employing photovoltaic cells was designed and constructed to determine the drape coefficient of fabric specimens of 10-in. diameter. The warp- and weft-direction tensile moduli of these samples were determined by using a Kawabata Tensile and Shear Tester, and literature values of Poisson's ratio were obtained. With this approach, excellent agreement between experimental and predicted drape coefficients resulted. For a 100% cotton plain-weave fabric, a drape coefficient of 68.4% was experimentally determined as compared with a predicted value of 71.0%.