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Cut resistant property of weft knitting structure: a

review

Lijuan Wang, Kejing Yu, Diantang Zhang & Kun Qian

To cite this article: Lijuan Wang, Kejing Yu, Diantang Zhang & Kun Qian (2017): Cut
resistant property of weft knitting structure: a review, The Journal of The Textile Institute, DOI:
10.1080/00405000.2017.1398858

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00405000.2017.1398858

Published online: 22 Nov 2017.

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The Journal of The Textile Institute, 2017
https://doi.org/10.1080/00405000.2017.1398858

Cut resistant property of weft knitting structure: a review

Lijuan Wang, Kejing Yu, Diantang Zhang and Kun Qian
Key Laboratory of Science & Technology of Eco-Textile, Ministry of Education, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, People’s Republic of China

ABSTRACT ARTICLE HISTORY

Application fields of cut resistant textile are very wide, such as, workplace, sports, transportation, and Received 20 February 2017
military. With the requirement of lightweight and comfortable cut-proof clothes, the knitted fabric has Accepted 8 March 2017
the advantages of its structure, which is more and more widely used. The common four forms of yarn
KEYWORDS
in the knitting structure is held loop, tuck loop, float loop, and free yarn. The cut resistant mechanism of Cut resistance; knitting
fabric is much more complex, due to their fiber and yarn intrinsic properties and fabric structure. So, cut structure; mechanical
test of fiber, yarn, and fabric is necessary, while no established standard for the cut testing of fiber or yarns property; test methods;
exists, there are three standards used to evaluate the cut resistance of knitted or woven fabrics used in theoretical model
protective clothing: BS EN 388, ASTMF1790, ISO13997. Now, there are simple models on cut resistance of
fabric, consisting of forces in the cutting process and contact area. There are still a lot of work to continue
to get a thorough understanding of mechanism of fabric’s cut resistance.

1. Introduction high resistance to cutting, abrasion and puncture while retaining

a good level of flexibility (http://www.superfabric.com/, 2008).
Textiles structure has been used in Personal Protective Equipment
Liquid body armor always is a research focus, that is, the use
(PPE) for many years. Cut resistant clothing is a typical type of
of shear thickening fluid (STF) as an added material to high
mechanical PPE, which is usually used as ballistic resistant armor,
tenacity fabric to enhance cut-proof performance. The fabric
stab resistant clothing, and slash resistant garment. Application
with STF has a negligible thickness and flexible, but it has more
of cut-proof textile structure is very wide, such as cut injuries of
weight (Park, Kim, Baluch, et al., 2014). In short, the existed
broken glasses and blade to the hand in workplace, the cutting
commercial anti-cutting material is made of pure textile fab-
action of the crushed stone on the mountaineering clothes in the
ric or composites of textile fabric and other materials. Knitting
rock climbing, shrapnel injury to the human body in blast, and
technology offers considerable advantages in terms of cost, flex-
transportation. Hence, the study on cut resistant action of textile
ibility, and versatility in the production of suitable structures.
structure is significant (Dolez & Vukhanh, 2015).
Furthermore, existed knitting machines have been successfully
Cutting is simply defined by Persson (1987) as ‘mechanically
adapted to use various type of high-performance fibers, includ-
dividing a solid body along a predetermined line using a cutting
ing glass, aramid and even ceramics to produce both flat and
tool’. In fact, mechanism of cut, slash and stab resistance of textile
net-shape/near-net-shape fabrics.(Leong, Ramakrishna, Huang,
material is significantly different. Table 1 summarizes difference
et al., 2000). However, because the high degree interlocking of
of puncture, cut, slash, and knife stab resistance separately.
the yarns occurs in the knitting process, which results in a fabric
Now, with the development of the textile weaving technol-
with too low an initial modulus. For slash resistance, it is the low
ogy and the high performance fiber, the fabric structure used
initial modulus that aids in the relative slippage of the yarns,
for cut resistant product is gradually enriched, such as woven,
assisting in distributing the stresses over a larger area and hence
knitting, non-woven, and unidirectional cloth. There have
preventing the blade from striking through the fabric. Therefore,
been many commercial anti-cutting fabrics in the market. The
weft-knitting technique was utilized to design the slash-resistant
PPSS Company developed a series of Cut-Tex® PRO fabric and
fabric (Govarthanam, Anand, & Rajendran, 2010). Rana Faruq
cut-slash resistant protective garments. As reported, the fabric
Mahbub studied seamless weft knit technology used to minimize
is a kind of knit structure which is composed of UHMWPE
cutting and sewing processes in making knitted stab resistant
and some special ultra high molecular material. The authority
garments (Mahbub, 2015). Table 2 lists advantages and disad-
announced that Cut-Tex® PRO fabric reached the highest stand-
vantages of woven, knitting, non-woven used for cut resistant
ard of European standard BS EN388:2003 cutting test (http://
material.
www.cut-tex.com/, Cut-Tex® PRO, 2014). With a technology
However, the cutting process of textile structure is complex.
called SuperFabric® based on tiny hard guard plates embedded
Further failure mechanisms still need to be studied. This paper
in a base fabric, HDM (USA) is offering engineering solutions for

CONTACT  Kun Qian  [email protected]

© 2017 The Textile Institute
2   L. WANG ET AL.

Table 1. Mechanism of puncture, cut, slash, and Knife stab resistance.

Type Used tool Different mechanism

Cut resistance Cut refers to actions in which the long edged weapon travels primarily parallel to the armor surface
with some load. the cutting tool slip on the armor surface at a certain speed

Slash resistance Slash refers to actions in which the long edged weapon travels primarily vertical to the armor surface
with great load. Commonly, travel speed is also relatively fast

Puncture resistance Puncture refers to defeat of a material by a pointed object such as an icepick or awl(non-edge). The
pointed object has a tendency to ‘window’ or displace the fibers and yarns of the fabric so that the
object can easily pass through the fabric

Knife stab resistance Knife stab refers to actions in which the edged weapon travels primarily in a direction normal to the
armor surface. Due to the edged tool, In the process of the normal moving, the fabric has a shear
effect

Table 2. Advantages and disadvantages of woven, knitting, non-woven used for cut resistant material.

Flexibility of structural Stability of mechanical

Fabric structure Automation/cost Production cycle design Formability property Fiber application
Knitting Medium/Low Short High High Low Low
Woven Medium/Medium Long Medium Medium High High
Non-woven Medium/High Longer Low Low High High

mainly aims to provide the reader to a general appreciation of mechanism of cut resistance of cut resistant fabric was investi-
cut resistant fabric. With this objective, this paper first stated gated. At last, there was cut resistance of prediction using these
material and weft-knitting structure for cut resistant fabric. different techniques with theoretical and numerical models. It
Secondly, it summarized testing method of fiber, yarn, and is expected that this review has a significant inference for the
fabric used for cut resistant clothing. Furthermore, a study on future application.
 THE JOURNAL OF THE TEXTILE INSTITUTE   3

Table 3. Fiber types.

Chemical Linear density Fiber Strain to failure Tensile modulus Tensile strength
Trade name composition (g/9000 m) diameter(um) (%) Density (g/cm3) (Gpa) (Gpa)
Kevlar 129 Aramid 840 13.0 3.3 1.44 94 3.31
Twaron2040 Aramid 840 9.5 3.3 1.44 90 3.31
Dyneema SK-76 UHMWPE 400 18.8 3.6 0.98 88 2.62
Zylon PBO 500 12.3 3.5 1.54 180 5.80
Vectran Aromatic Polyester 1500 23.5 3.3 1.41 75 3.20
Technora Aramid 1500 12.3 4.6 1.39 73 3.44
S2-Glass Glass 2980 9.3 5.5 2.48 85 4.80
Carbon fiber Graphite 800 8.0 2 1.80 234 4.83

Notes: The fibers above the dashed line are organic fibers and the fibers below the dashed line are inorganic fibers. Linear density, strain to failure, tensile modulus, and
tensile strength data are from multi-filament yarn testing, provided by the manufacturers [13].

2.  Material and weft-knitting structure for cut coaxial spinning, wrapped yarn, staple blend yarn, ply-twisted and
resistant fabric ply-untwisted yarn. Among five methods, wrapped yarn, staple
blend, ply-twisted and ply-untwisted yarn are often used, which
2.1.  Fiber and yarn
are not elaborated in this study, as shown in Figure 2. The nozzle
Cut resistant fabrics are generally made of high-performance is designed into annular shape, two different property materials
fibers, which are divided into organic fibers (aramids, extended independently jet out from inner bore and outer ring, which is
chain polyethylenes, aromatic polyester fibers, aromatic heter- defined as coaxial spinning. The internal construction of the yarn
ocyclic polymer fibers, etc.) and inorganic fibers (carbon, glass, is complete and seamless. However, the processing technologies of
metals, carbides, oxides.) (David, Gao, & Zheng, 2009; Tabiei & the two materials must be the same. In order to satisfy the cutting
Nilakantan, 2008). The properties of the main high-performance performance of the yarn, one of the raw materials of the yarn must
fibers used in cut-proof fabrics are summarized in Table 3 and be a high-performance fiber, which composite with synthetic fiber
Figure 1. Some researchers have yet improved the cutting per- and natural fibers, e.g. polyester, nylon, PAN fiber, cotton, silk,
formance of fibers or yarns by physical and chemical methods. wool et al. The mixed proportion ratio must be considered, with
For instance, Jeffrey CM developed aramid copolymer fibers different hybrid ratio, the cut resistant performance of the yarn is
used in cut protection by a lab-scale wet spinning experimental varied (Hipp, 2015). Mustafa Ertekin et al. investigated cut resist-
design. Also, this paper also examined characterization of the ance of woven para-aramid fabrics made of hybrid yarns, which are
structure, morphology, and other physical properties related to composed of staple para-aramid fibers with different core/sheath
the cut resistance of those fibers using established testing proce- ratios of various filaments in their structure. The effects of core/
dures (Moreland, 2010). In Chinese patent 201510647140.2, Cai sheath ratio and core filament type were investigated, as shown in
devised a cutting resistant fabric of UHMWPE spun yarn. Linear Figure 3 (Ertekin & Kirtay, 2015).
density, length, and tensile strength of UHMWPE spun yarn are Fiber and yarn used for cut resistant fabrics are extensive,
1.11–1.33dtex, 51–57 mm, and 30–45cN/dtex, respectively (Cai from inorganic to organic, and hybrid yarn. Now, some research-
et al., China patent, 2015). ers try to use hyper-elastic material composite with fiber to prod-
Moreover, hybrid yarn is the focus of research. This is because uct cut resistant yarn. With the development of new materials,
different properties can be obtained by various blending technol- cut resistant performance of fabric will be improved.
ogies. Serge designed a type of hybrid yarn, which was combined
aramid with steel or glass fiber, steel, and glass fibers tend to be
2.2.  Weft knit structure
reduced in cross-sectional without fracture. Results indicated
that this hybrid yarn is helpful for cut resistant property of yarn Knitted structures are developed by knitting, a process of form-
(Rebouillat, Steffenino, & Miret-Casas, 2010). In USA patent ing fabric by the intermeshing of loops of yarns (Padaki &
NO4918912, blended spun yarns were made of about 40%-60% Alagirusamy, 2006). The repeating unit of the knitted fabric is
para-aramid fiber, about 20–40% nylon fiber, and about 10%- called the loop, depending on the direction in which the loops are
30% acrylic fiber. Such yarns have better resistant performance formed, knitting can be broadly categorized into two types – weft
to cutting and abrasion (Warner, USE patent, 1990). Rana Faruq knitting and warp knitting. Weft knitting, the most common type
Mahbub used wool yarn and Kevlar with two feeders as a union of knitting in the apparel industry, forms loops when yarns are
blend to product a weft-knitted fabric (Rana Faruq Mahbub, 2015). moving in the weft direction or perpendicular to the direction of
In EP patent NO1678356B1, inventor made use of plied-twist to fabric formation (Pastore, 2000; Pamuk, & Çeken, 2008). Figure 4
product cut-resistant yarn, the ply-twisted yarns were made by shows basic structure of the weft knitting (i.e. plain knit) .They
twisting together at least two single yarns. The one single yarn has a can be created either on the flat bed machine or on the circular
sheath/core construction with a sheath of cut resistant staple fibers machine (see Figure 5).
and an inorganic fiber core. The other single yarn combines staple In knitting, except for held loop, float and tuck stitches/
fibers with elastomeric filament (Prickett et al., EP patent, 2006). loops represent the main routes for modifying knit structures
Hybrid technologies are more studied in bulletproof field. About to achieve specific macroscopic properties in the fabric. In
hybrid process, some factors should be considered, such as hybrid general, a tuck stitch makes a knitted fabric wider, thicker and
method, raw material choice, and hybrid proportion. Firstly, there slightly less extensible. A float stitch, on the other hand, creates
are five common methods for the hybrid process of yarn, which are the opposite effect, as well as increases the proportion of straight
4   L. WANG ET AL.

yarns in the structure, which is an important consideration for flat-bed machines that have the capability of continuously and
many cut resistant applications (Leong et al., 2000). Weft-knitting progressively feeding a straight yarn into the needle bed just
machines with two sets of needles have the ability to create two ahead of each knitting action so that the yarn is locked inside
individual layers of fabric that are held together by tucks. In other the loops (Leong et al., 2000). Figure 6 shows schematic of four
words, two distinctive layers are joined together by a connective forms of knitting structure.
yarn. Such a fabric is referred to as spacer fabric, which has been Tuba Alpyildiz et al. developed a new double-face knitted
widely used in the textile industry (Bruer & Powell, 2005). Now, structure which is composed of tuck stitches and has the same
weft knits can be designed with enhanced properties in certain back and front faces. The newly derived structure, manufactured
directions by the use of laid-in yarns (free yarn) (Horrocks & from p-aramid fibers with and without inlay yarns, is shown
Anand, 2004). Weft-insert, weft-knit fabrics are produced on in Figure 7. Experimental results showed double-face structure
with inlay yarns have better cut resistance (Alpyildiz, Rochery,
Kurbak, & Flambard, 2011). In EP0421041A1, the inventor
designed a double-faced weft-knitted fabric, the knitted fabric
was realized with two different yarns and having a structure
made of one yarn predominantly on one face and a structure
made of another yarn on the other face, were well known and
widely used (Novati & Ferrari, 1991). Tuba Alpyildiz et al. inves-
tigated the effect of tuck stitches on the mechanical performance
of glass-knitted fabrics-reinforced composites (Alpyildiz, Icten,
Karakuzu, & Kurbak, 2009).
A lot of knitting structures are used for anti-cutting product,
performance of knitted fabric depends not only on the strength
of the constituent materials but also on the internal structural
geometry of the constituents, each loop type corresponds to a
different geometry. It is interesting to study the effects of different
types of loops that can be used to build the knitted fabrics. The
Figure 1. Fiber stress–strain curves. Para-aramid, glass, and steel.

Figure 2. Process technology of hybrid yarn.

Figure 3. Cut resistance index of the fabric samples.

 THE JOURNAL OF THE TEXTILE INSTITUTE   5

cutting mechanism of the knitting structure is not very clear. other countries and regions do not have the appropriate cut test
There are many study spaces to explore constantly in this field. standard. However, test method and data processing of each
standard are different (Rebouillat et al., 2010). The researchers
found that anti-cutting properties of fabric were affected by the
3.  Testing method of cut resistant fabric
fabric structure, yarn properties, fiber materials, while no estab-
At present, there are three standards to evaluate the cut resistance lished standard for the cut testing of fiber or yarns exist, many
property of knitted or woven fabrics used in protective clothing: scholars make experiments using a custom-designed fixture to
BS EN 388, ASTMF1790, ISO13997. The EN norm is still very study the cutting property of fiber or yarn.
broadly used in the Pacific region as well as in Europe, while the
ASTM is more dominantly used in the Americas, the ISO is in
3.1.  Cut testing method of fiber and yarn
the process of becoming more universally used across continents,
For years, work has been done to develop test method for evalu-
ating the cut resistance of yarn or fabric used in protective textile.
JB Mayo Jr and ED Wetzel used a custom-designed fixture to test
cut resistance and failure of high-performance single fibers. In
the test process, blade angle and fiber angle can be varied. The
fixture has a rotary platform, angle indicator, and rubber clamps.
The gauge length between the two rubber clamps was 140 mm.
The effect of cutting angle on cut performance was evaluated by
varying longitudinal and transverse cutting angles, labeled as θ
and α, respectively, as shown in Figure 8 (Mayo & Wetzel, 2014;
Mayo, 2010). Hyung-Seop Shin transformed a commercial lab-
oratory mechanical testing machine, and designed a new fixture
to grip a yarn sample on opposing sides with pre-tension. A
cutter mounted on the fixed beam of the machine is motionless,
however, the angle of the cutter with respect to the direction
of motion, defined here as the slice angle, are adjustable. The
sample contacts with cutter though the upward movement of
the ram, at a constant ram rate of 0.25 mm/s. A CCD camera
trained on the stationary cutter recorded mechanistic details of
Figure 4. Basic structure of the weft knitting. yarn failure. The camera was oriented at an angle of 30˚ with

Figure 5. (a) Flat bed and (b) circular weft-knitting machine.

Figure 6. Schematic of four basic form of knitting looping.

6   L. WANG ET AL.

Figure 7. Knit notation of Double-face structure (a) with inlay yarns and (b) without inlay yarns.

Figure 8. Photographs and schematics of single fiber cut fixture.

respect to the fabric plane, and a scale bar was attached to the the top of cutter is higher than yarn, which is about 2.5 mm, the
cutter at right angles to the direction of the camera to assist in blade can be moved right and left by the motor. (2) Work area,
determining the yarn travel. A microphone recorded acoustic yarn or fabric samples are fixed on workbench, the two ends of
signals from failing fibers within the yarns, as shown in Figure 9 sample are tightly held by hanging hammers, no slipping occurs
(Shin, Erlich, & Shockey, 2003). Jeffrey C. Moreland modified during the testing process. (3) Power supply and digital control
the original CRT by CATRA, compared to the original CRT, the area, speed of the cutter’s movement is controlled by the pulses,
upper yarn holder was positioned a thumbscrew attached to a as show in Figure 12 (Gu, 2015).
small screw-driven slide that was mounted to a cross-brace of
the CRT frame. A load cell was also added to the upper clamp
3.2.  Cut testing method of fabric
to measure the tension on the test specimen before and during
cutting. Other components have not been changed, as shown in Three cut test standards are described in the norm documents,
Figure 10 (Moreland, 2010). Bi. Rui and Y.M. Jiang developed each testing method has different test equipment. However, the
self-designed accessories mounted on bottom fixture of Instron sample in each of the three cases is located underneath the blade
mechanical testing machine. The sample round the blade, the two and on the sample holder. There are similarities and character-
ends of tested yarn were simultaneously gripped by up fixture, ization between the ASTM and ISO procedures, but there are
both ends of the yarn have been made to strengthen treatment fundamental differences between these two and the BS EN 388
with 5 mm styptic plaster. Setting the working length to 100 mm, in the equipment and the test method.
the length of the sample is 300 mm, seeing Figure 11 (Rui, 2006).
Gu. Jing and J.H. Sui home made the cut equipment of the yarn. 3.2.1.  BS EN 388 (Europe)
Instruments were mainly divided into three regions: (1) the fixed Figure 13 shows the BS EN 388 test apparatus and schematic
area of the cutter, the cutter is fixed on frame with a certain angle, representation. Theory of the EN test method is based on the
 THE JOURNAL OF THE TEXTILE INSTITUTE   7

Figure 9. Cut device of yarn and holding fixture.

Figure 10. The revised Cut Resistance Tester (CRT) from the Cutlery and Allied Trades Research Association.

measurement of the substrate cut resistance when submitted to

5
the cutting effect generated by the rotation of the circular blade 1∑
on the sample tested, which is under a relatively moderate pres-
I= I (3)
5 n=1 n
sure provided by a 5 N load force applied on the blade. The blade
has a diameter of 45 mm, which corresponds to a circumference where In is the cut resistance index of the nth sample, Cn and Cn+1
of 141 mm. At the bottom is the straight sample holder, 90 mm in are cycles required to cut through the nth reference cotton fabric
length with 5 slots, each 5 mm wide. A cotton reference material before and after a test on the sample material, ‘Tn’ is the number
is used to control blade sharpness, and a test is performed on the of cycles necessary to cut through the nth testing fabric. Usually,
control material before and after a test on the sample material the final cut resistance index ‘I’ is the minimum value of I1 and
(Lara & Massé, 2000). I2, which are the cut resistance indexes of the two sequences of
In the BS EN 388 test method (BS EN388, 2003), cut resistance five tests made, they are evaluated as follows:
is determined on the basis of index ‘I’, which is based on the
ratio of the number of cycles of a circular blade required to cut
I = Min(I1 , I2 ) (4)
through the sample to the mean cycles required to cut through Flambard amend characterization methods of cut resistance of
a reference cotton fabric before and after a test on the sample the test, two new coefficients were calculated; Cce for the reference
material. Calculation formula of index ‘I’ is as follows: fabric and Ccs for the samples:
( 10 ))
(Cn − Tn )
( ) (
∑ Tn Tn Tn
In = (1) Cce = − max − min ∕8
Cn n=1
Ccn Ccn Ccn

where
Cn + Cn+1 (Cn + Cn+1 )
Cn = (2) Ccn = (5)
2 2
8   L. WANG ET AL.

Ccs = Cce × (540∕m)

(6)
where 540 is the weight per unit area of the reference fabric in
g/m2 and m is the weight per unit area of the sample in g/m2
(Flambard, 2000).
Basing on the ‘I’ index, the performance level for protective
material is indicated, as shown in Table 4.

3.2.2.  ASTM F1790 (USA)

Figure 14 shows the ASTM F1790 test apparatus and schematic
representation. Principle of the test is based on the measurement
of the load necessary to provoke the cut-through of the sample
after a sliding distance of the rectangular blade of 20 mm (the
most recently adopted harmonized distance). The blades used
for tests are rectangular, and the blades move in one direction
with a constant velocity of 150 mm/min (Irzmanska & Stefko,
2012). To avoid the problem of alignment between the sample
surface and the blade, the upper surface of the sample holder has
a curvature and a radius of 38 mm. Cut resistance is determined
on the basis of curve diagram of load and displacement (ASTM
F1790–04, 2003).

3.2.3.  ISO139979 (international)

ISO139979 has a lot of similarities with ASTM F1790, e.g. straight
Figure 11. The self-designed cutting accessories. blade, arched sample holder and theory of cut test. Figure 14 is
cut test apparatus and schematic representation of the test, the

Figure 12. Cut resistance tester and schematic representation.

Figure 13. BS EN 388 (Europe) (a) test apparatus, (b) schematic representation and (c) blade sharp.
 THE JOURNAL OF THE TEXTILE INSTITUTE   9

blade slides horizontally at a controlled rate, the final charac- 4.1.  Force in the cutting process
terization value is the cutting force. However, there are some
Jaime Lara et al. interpreted forces presented in a cutting process:
different places, as shown in Table 5 (ISO 13998, 1998).
a normal force FN, which is applied at the blade-material point
As can be seen from the above standard introduction, EN388,
of contact; a frictional force FF, which develops when the blade
ISO 13997, ASTM 1790 are different test methods, these criteria
slides and penetrates the material; the resultant cutting force FR,
fully account for the sharp degree of the blade, which induces to
which is the resultant vector of FN and FF, seeing Figure 18 (a)
the difference test results (Figure 15).
represents the case of a material where the coefficient of fric-
tion FF is much higher than FN, which is typical of some rubber
4.  Mechanism of cut resistance of weft-knitting materials. (b) represents the case of a material for which FN is
structure higher than FF, which is typical for knitted fiber materials such
as Spectra® and Kevlar® (Lara & Massé, 2000).
To understand the cut response of fabric in more detail, it is first
V K Kothari considered that cutting, which involves a normal
necessary to understand the cutting process involved. The cutting
and a sliding movement, is strongly controlled by friction between
hazard for protective apparel, however, initially involves a compres-
the blade and the cut material. To analyze mechanism of cut resist-
sive-shearing action between the cutting edge and the textile, as
ance of textile material, it is significant to visualize the actual cut-
shown in Figure 16. Jeffrey C. Moreland proposed effect of blade
ting process and the force involved during cutting a material. The
geometry on internal fiber stress during cutting, however, he did
schematic representation of cutting force is shown in Figure 19.
not make a deep research, seeing Figure 17 (Moreland, 2010).
Where FN is the normal load; Ft, the pretension; V, the velocity
Earlier, cut resistance studies have been focused on homogeneous
of blade; Ff, the frictional force; Fs, the separation force; tf, the thick-
materials such as elastomeric layers which exhibit relatively clear
ness of material; and y, the current separation between the cutting
and controllable frictional behaviors and tear propagation mecha-
edge and the base of the material (Kothari & Sreedevi, 2006).
nisms. The mechanical resistance of fabric is much more complex
Although the force in the cutting process has been established,
due to their fiber intrinsic properties and fabric structure formation
the correlation between the force and the mechanical properties
(Rebouillat et al., 2010). However, a detailed study of the fiber or
and structural parameters of the material is not clear. Now an
fabric failure mechanisms of cut resistance has yet to be reported.
attempt will be made to develop a model to determine the actual
force that is involved in cutting.
Table 4. The performance level for protective material [30]. B.N. Vu Thi considered that cut resistance of the material is con-
Performance level Cut resistance expressed as index ‘I’ tributed by the intrinsic strength of the material and the frictional
Level 1 1.2 distribution, which involved two types of friction in cutting: a mac-
Level 2 2.5 roscopic friction induced by the gripping of the material and by the
Level 3 5.0 applied normal load on the two sides of the blade; and the other
Level 4 10.
Level 5 20.0 the sliding friction associated with cut through of the material that
occurs along the face of the blade tip. He made a mechanical model

Figure 14. ASTM F1790 (USA) (a) test apparatus, (b) schematic representation and (c) blade sharp.

Table 5. Different places of ISO139979 and ASTM F1790 [29].

ISO13997 ASTM F 1790

Normal force constant Normal force variable and a function of the material’s coefficient of friction
Blade speed constant Blade speed sinusoidal
Cut resistance calculated at 20 mm blade displacement Cut resistance calculated at 25 mm blade displacement
Sample installation: the sample is placed on the double phase tape in direct Sample installation: the sample is placed on the double phase tape. The blade
contact with the conductive material should cut through the sample material and the double phase tape to contact
the conductive material
Correction for blade sharpness is done as follows: C = 20/I(I is cutting stroke on Correction for blade sharpness is done as follows: C = 25/I(I is cutting stroke on
neoprene at 5 N) neoprene at 400 g)
10   L. WANG ET AL.

Figure 15. ISO139979 (international) (a) test apparatus and (b) schematic representation.

Figure 16. Compressive-shearing action between the cutting edge and the textile.

of fabric in the cutting process with the International Standard ISO

13997 test method (Seeing Equations (7–9)).
Fhf = 𝜇n FN + Fadh (7)

M
∑
Fadh = Ai 𝜏i (8)
i=1

𝜏 ≈ E� e (9)
where Fhf is the horizontal friction force and FN is the applied
normal load, un is ftiction coefficient. The second term Fadh in this
Figure 17.  Effect of blade geometry on internal fiber stress during cutting: (a)
equation is independent of applied normal load but depends on
transverse compression from dull and blunt edge and (b) direct shear from sharp the sample thickness. Where Ai is the local macroscopic area of
and fine edge. contact between an elastomer and a rough rigid substrate and 𝜏i is
the local effective shear strength of the interface. They suggested
that tensile stress at break σ be a measurement of shear strength
at the contact surface (Vu Thi, Vu-Khanh, & Lara, 2005; Vu Thi,
Vu-Khanh, & Lara, 2009).
According to the research by other scholars, the mechanical
model in the cutting process is affected by the following factors:
(1) The real contact area of blade and material. Cutting
force in the cutting process strike on the blade is differ-
ent, according to different areas of thrust surface. The
cutting edge of the blade is the line, hypothesis of the
same cut momentum, if the contact line is short, and
Figure 18. Diagram of forces involved in the cutting process.
average force is large, vice versa.
 THE JOURNAL OF THE TEXTILE INSTITUTE   11

Figure 19. Schematic representation of cutting force.

Figure 20. Schematic representation and real picture of loop deformation of the weft-knitted fabric along Transverse direction to stab.

Figure 21. The finite element analysis of Plain weave fabric in the high-speed impact (a) model of plain-woven fabric and (b) fabric deformation.

(2) The material undergoes plastic deformation on the normal approach will be given by (tf-y), the energy of deformation
cutting force. represented by the cut must be supplied by the shear strength
(3) The mechanical properties of material on the appli- and the frictional force, which will therefore be larger than that
cation of load, e.g. tribological properties of fabric when no such groove is formed. Hence, an additional component
surface, tear resistance, and shear performance of the to the frictional force is involved. Following relationships have
material, which relates to fabric structure and yarn been used:
properties.
• Let the area, over which the shear force is applied to initi-
ate sliding, be AH
• Horizontal area of contact (AH) = length of contact (cut)
4.2.  Equation for sliding distance (Kothari & Sreedevi,
*width of the blade edge
2006)
• Let the initial vertical area of contact after the normal load
When a hard surface slides over a soft surface, it tends to dig into is applied, be Av
the softer surface during sliding and produces a groove. Hard • Initial vertical area of contact (Av)  =  length of contact *
surface compresses soft surface to a certain height. Hence, the thickness after compressed (tf-y)
12   L. WANG ET AL.

• About Av, it means the resistance of sliding, consisting of performance. At last, for years, work has been done to develop
the need to displace the area during sliding test methods for evaluating the cut resistance of fabrics used
in protective clothing, there are three testing method standards
Cutting process of textile material is complex, which relates including ASTM F1790, ISO13997, and BS EN 388. With a new
to cutter property and mechanical performance or structure of concept of measuring cut resistance is developed and is emerging
textile fabric. Now, there are simple models on cut resistance of as the more valuable approach, test apparatuses corresponding
fabric, consisting of forces in the cutting process and contact area. to this approach will be developed. So there is larger study space
There’s still a lot of work to continue to get a thorough under- on anti-cutting performance of textile material.
standing of mechanism of fabric’s cut resistance performance.

Acknowledgement
5.  Theoretical models
This work was supported by Jiangsu advanced textile engineering tech-
Some phenomena are not easy to find in the cut experiment. So, nology center for the financial support of project (No. XJFZ/2016/13) and
the researchers make models to evaluate and verify experimen- Jiangsu Graduate Research and Innovation project (KYCX17_1449).
tal result. Mathematical and numerical models are frequently
used, mathematical methods enable the study of cut mechanism Disclosure statement
from the general continuum mechanics equations. The aim is the
development of models for approximating the materials behavior No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
in the closest way. In this case, a real knowledge of the physical
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