24—ANALYSIS OF THE DRY-RELAXED KNITTED-LOOP CONFIGURATION: PART I: TWO-DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

Models of the relaxed plain-knit structure proposed by previous workers suffer from the disadvantage of being based on the assumption of some geometrical shape for the knitted loop and are not derived from equilibrium considerations of the forces and couples applied to one loop by its neighbours. In the work described in this paper, the dry-relaxed knitted-loop configuration is considered as a function of a system of localized forces and couples acting on the loop at the interlocking points in the fabric. The assumed system of forces and couples is derived from physical considerations of equilibrium and loop symmetry. In this paper, the loop is assumed to be plane (or two-dimensional), and its shape is analysed as a function of the forces acting in the plane of the fabric. The resultant loop configuration is discussed in relation to experimental work previously done on relaxed plain-knit fabrics. The analysis is to be extended to three dimensions in Part II.