Knitted materials capacity for vibration protection applications

The present work is a synthesis of the author’s previous research on weft and warp knitted fabrics response under dynamic stress and their capacity of vibration damping. The main objective of this research is to experimentally investigate the vibration behaviour of these fabrics with an existing testing method, in order to understand how the fabric structural parameters affect their vibration isolation performance. The authors have focused their interest on the knitted fabrics characterization through their natural frequencies, which were determined by employing the free vibrations method. The natural frequency is the rate at which an object vibrates when it is not disturbed by an outside force. A comparative fabrics analysis of the measured natural frequencies is performed and the main parameters of influence are discussed. An ideal knitted spacer fabric developed for anti-vibration purposes, should have the capacity of absorb energy efficiently, still having sufficient stiffness to avoid its collapse and an acceptable thickness in order to maintain a sense of touch and dexterity to complete the tasks. The preliminary results confirmed that knitted fabrics can be engineered and exploited as structures with vibration absorption capabilities.