Computer Simulation of the Mechanical Properties of Nonwoven Fabrics: Part I: The Method

We are developing a computer simulation method of predicting the mechanical properties of nonwoven fabrics based on a fundamental microscopic description of the system. The program starts with the known mechanical properties of a given fiber laid out in a web of a particular initial geometry that is held together by some specified means. The evolution of the fabric system as it undergoes a selected distortion is then computed from first principles without recourse to any fabric data. This general method is illustrated with a randomly generated fabric model.