Prediction of Mechanical

Properties of Woven Fabrics

by ANN software
*Artificial neural network (ANN)

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 Abstract
• This study aims to obtain an accurate prediction model of mechanical
properties of woven fabric to achieve customer satisfaction. Samples
of plain woven fabric were produced from different yarn counts and
blend ratios of cotton and polyester of weft yarn at different weft
densities. Mechanical properties such as tensile strength, bending
stiffness and elongation% in both the warp and weft directions were
tested. The prediction model was based on Artificial Neural Networks
(ANNs). For each model, thirty-nine samples were used for training
and fifteen for testing prediction performance. Findings indicated that
the ANN achieved a perfect performance in predicting all properties

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 Introduction
• Lately, fabric production operations have become nearly entirely automated in order to
achieve high productivity and high quality while meeting consumer demands. Tensile
strength, fabric stiffness, and elongation are the mechanical qualities of woven fabric which
have a significant impact on the fabric’s durability, comfort, lifetime, and overall quality. As
a result, predicting fabric mechanical qualities like strength, elongation, and stiffness is a
complicated relationship, which is influenced by fabric design, warp and weft densities 1,
2 , and customer satisfaction. Therefore, testing these properties should be done regularly to
check the achievements of required specifications. On the other hand, more testing means
high waste of material and money. Therefore, predicting the values of these properties saves
testing time and, hence, cost. According to literature studies, regression analysis and
artificial neural networks have been used to predict fabric properties. Numerous prediction
models based on regression analysis have been introduced. Artificial neural networks
(ANNs) are powerful in modeling complicated outcomes in textile processes. Recently,
artificial neural networks have been used successfully to predict various properties of
woven fabrics. Some studies predict the mechanical properties of woven fabrics using one
or both of the prediction approaches.
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 Introduction…..
• Concerning tensile strength, Zeydan 3 , for example, introduced a new computational
modeling technique to the predict tensile strength of jacquard woven fabric based on
TDOE (Taguchi Design of Experiment), ANN, GA-ANN (Genetic Algorithm Based
Artificial Neural Network) hybrid structure and multiple regression methodology. The
parameters studied were fiber type and counts of warp and weft yarns, as well as weft
and warp densities. By comparing traditional techniques like multiple regression
modeling and the computational modeling proposed, the GA-ANN hybrid technique
was found as a suitable modeling approach. In addition, outcomes revealed that the
most important factor affecting the fabric strength is warp density according to the S/N
Ratio. Abou-Nassif 4 initiated two prediction models to predict tensile strength,
extension and air permeability properties of woven fabrics using Linear Regression and
Artificial Neural Network Models. Experimental parameters were the weft yarn count,
twist multiplier and weft density. By comparing prediction results of the proposed
models based on (R2 -value), it was found that ANN is more accurate than the
regression model at predicting the characteristics of woven fabrics. Majumdar et al. 5
developed two empirical modeling methods based on an artificial neural network
(ANN) and linear regression in order to predict 4
 Introduction…..

• woven fabric strength in the warp direction. Experimental variables

were the weft count, strength and elongation of warp yarn, as well as
warp and weft densities. Results showed that the two most significant
factors affecting fabric strength in the warp direction were warp yarn
strength and warp density. In addition, both prediction models were
able to predict the fabric strength precisely, but the ANN model
achieved higher prediction accuracy than that by the regression model.
Malik and Arain 6 introduced an empirical regression models to
predict the tensile strength of woven fabrics produced by different
warp and weft yarn count densities. Prediction results revealed a very
high accuracy of the models developed.
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 Introduction…..
• Regarding the prediction of woven fabric stiffness, Hedfi et al.7 presented a
simulation model to predict the fabric drape properties of woven fabric based
on Artificial Neural Networks and the Finite Element Method, concluding
that using the Finite Element Method increased the accuracy of predication
of this model. Erenler and Oğulata8 established different prediction models
using a feedforward and back propagation network to predict woven fabric
stiffness by modeling the fabric construction, such as the weft yarn count,
fabric design and weft density, in addition to finishing properties. The
models varied from the properties of ANNs, such as the transfer function,
numbers of neurons and number of hidden layers. The high accuracy model
is selected from among ten models according to its high degree of
correlation “R-value”. Eman et al. 9 used bending stiffness as a regressor to
predict the pilling of woven fabrics
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 Introduction…..
• In addition, a number of studies have been conducted on the prediction of the elongation and
extension of woven fabric. For example, Ogulata et al.10 introduced prediction models of the
elongation and recovery of polyester/ viscose/elastane blended woven fabric using both
regression models and ANN. In this study, results showed that prediction by ANN was more
accurate than by the regression model. In addition, elongation properties were predicted more
precisely using both models than for recovery. Hadizadeh et al. 11 proposed prediction using
an ANN back-propagation algorithm to predict the performance of the initial load-extension
of plain weave, and accurate mapping results were generalised. Marasović and Penava 12
introduced three mathematical models based on nonlinear regression to determine the
breaking force and elongation at break for samples of plain woven fabrics with various
angles. From the previous literature, it is seen that there is a lack of studies which present a
prediction model for all mechanical properties together in both the warp and weft directions.
Thus, the main aim of this research work is to introduce a prediction model of woven fabric
properties such as tensile strength, stiffness and elongation in both the warp and weft
directions using artificial neural networks.
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 Experimental
Materials
• Samples from plain woven fabric were produced on an air jet weaving
loom. The fabric construction consisted of warp yarn of (50/1 Nm)
from (65% Polyester /35% Cotton) and two levels of weft yarn (40/1
Nm and 50/1 Nm) from three levels of blend ratios (100% cotton, 50%
Polyester /50% and 65% Polyester /35%) at warp density (0.30
ends/m) and three levels of weft densities (0.23, 0.25 and 0.27
picks/m). Table (1) shows the different factors and levels of weft yarns
used in the manufacturing. Table (2) shows the experimental design of
producing the test samples at the same warp and warp yarn density
with different weft yarns and weft densities. Each experiment was
repeated three times and fifty-four readings recorded.
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Experimental …….
Materials

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10
 Methodology
• Before testing, all test samples were conditioned for 24 hours in the
standard testing atmosphere: relative humidity 65%±2 and temperature
20±2ºC. The mechanical properties were tested according to the
following procedures.

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 Methodology…..
• Tensile strength
Fabric strength is one of the most important properties for woven fabric
performance, affecting its quality; therefore, it is an important feature to
estimate the performance of woven fabrics in many applications 13-17.
Tensile strength is measured by the maximum force recorded in extending
the sample tested to the moment of rupture at the breaking point.
Consequently, this force breaks a large number of yarns simultaneously in
either the warp or weft directions which cannot resist any more 18, 19.
The tensile was measured in both the warp and weft directions by
measuring the breaking force according to the strip method (ASTM:D
5035) 20. Specimens with dimensions( of 0.2 m) length and (0.025 m)
raveled width were cut in the warp and weft directions. On the apparatus,
the gauge length used was (0.075m), at a speed of (0.3 m/min).
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 Methodology…..
• Elongation
Elongation is the ratio of the increase in the length of the specimen to its
starting length. Hence, elongation is usually defined as strain or
percentage extension 18. Therefore, it is one of the major features of
woven fabrics which are especially made from elastane that affects
fabric recovery and comfort, which, in turn, impacts fabric quality 10.
Breaking elongation is recorded at the rupture point of the breaking
force. Thus, both the tensile strength (N) and elongation % were
measured together in both warp wise and weft wise in accordance with
(ASTM:D 5035-95) 20.

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Methodology…..
Fabric stiffness
Fabric stiffness is one of the most important properties of fabrics as the
bending resistance of fabrics, which is one of the objective
measurement methods, is an indicator of the fabric handle, drape,
buckling behavior, wrinkle-resistance and crease resistance of textile
products 21-23. Stiffness was measured by measuring the bending
length in both the warp and the weft directions. The bending length was
measured by a cantilever bending tester, developed by the Shirley
Institute, according to (ASTM:D 1388)24. Specimens with dimensions
(2.5*22*10- 4 m2 ) were cut in the warp and weft directions. Each
specimen bends under its own weight to a fixed angle (41.5°) from the
horizontal plane. The length of the sample overhang and the angle were
then used to calculate the bending stiffness of the fabric samples.
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Artificial Neural Network Prediction Model
• Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have a wide range of application in the textile
industry as they are powerful in many prediction-related problems in the textile sector,
such as the prediction of textile properties like identification, pattern recognition,
classification and defect analysis 8 . Figure 1 represents the network structure for the
prediction of six mechanical properties: (tensile strength (N), bending length (m) and
elongation %) in both the warp and weft directions. This ANN model consists of one
input layer with four inputs (X1-X4), one hidden layer with ten neurons, and an
output layer with six outputs. Table 3 shows the ANN training algorithm for a feed-
forward back propagation neural network, for which MATLAB 2013 software was
used. The prediction model for the mechanical properties of the woven fabrics tested
was carried out by artificial neural networks. Thirty-nine samples were used for
training and fifteen samples for testing the prediction model performance.

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Prediction Accuracy
• The prediction accuracy was evaluated according to statistical
variables. R-Squared (coefficient of determination), MSE (mean
squared error), RMSE (root mean squared error), MAE (mean absolute
error) and MAPE (mean absolute percentage error) are calculated by
the following equations 1-525. Moreover, MAPE significantly
indicates the prediction performance.

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Prediction Accuracy

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 Results and Discussion
• Training Results
The best training performance results were
obtained at the number of neurons (n=10). Results
of the artificial neural network proposed are
summarised as follows: the MSE “Mean squared
error” for training, validation and testing are 0.023,
0.084 and 0.026, and R values - “ coefficient of
correlation “ are 0.99 in each case. The overall
MSE is 0.016, and the overall R is 1, which means
that there is high correlation and close relationship
between the measured and predicted values of the
properties tested, as shown in Figure 2.

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Results and Discussion…..
• Testing Results
The testing data set contains fifteen samples; Tables 4 and 5 represent
comparisons between actual and predicted values by the ANN model for
mechanical properties in both the warp and weft directions in series.
Furthermore, Table 6 compares the precision of the prediction model for
the testing data set to express how well the model performs in its
prediction using statistical indicators (R2 , MSE, RMSE, MAE and
MAPE). First, the prediction performance in the warp direction is
evaluated according to R2 values, which are (1.00, 0.97 and 0.99 ) for
the tensile strength, stiffness, and elongation % in series, which refer to
satisfactory results and high correlation between actual and predicted
values.

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Results and Discussion…..

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Results and Discussion…..

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Results and Discussion…..
• In addition, low values of (MSE, RMSE and MAE) indicate the high
accuracy of this model. Furthermore, MAPE values are (0.01%, 1.62%
and 0.69%) for tensile strength, stiffness, and elongation % in series.
Second, the performance of prediction in the weft direction is tested using
R2 values of (1.00, 0.98, and 0.99) for tensile strength, stiffness, and
elongation % in series, indicating satisfactory results and a high
correlation between actual and predicted values. Moreover, low values of
(MSE, RMSE, and MAE) imply that this model is highly accurate.
Furthermore, MAPE values for tensile strength, stiffness, and elongation
% are (0.01%, 0.88%, and 1.14%) in series.

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 Results and Discussion…..
• Finally, a comparison between prediction performances in warp and weft
directions is shown by identical R2 values (1.00 and 1.00), (0.97 and 0.98) and
(0.99 and 0.99) for tensile strength, stiffness, and elongation % in the warp and
weft directions, respectively, indicating no remarkable difference between them
in both directions. Besides, MAPE values are (0.01% and 0.01%), (1.62%and
0.88%) and (0.69%and 1.14%) for tensile strength, stiffness, and elongation% in
the warp and weft directions, respectively. Therefore, there is no significant
difference between performance in the warp and weft directions because MAPE
do not exceed 10% 26. As a result of the low MAPE values, the high prediction
accuracies are arranged from the most to the least accurate as follows: tensile
strength in the weft direction, tensile strength in the warp direction, elongation %
in the warp direction, stiffness in the weft direction, elongation % in the weft
direction, and stiffness in the warp direction. Thus, this model can precisely
predict all properties tested with the least error.
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 Conclusions
• This work introduced a predictive approach to predict the mechanical properties of
woven fabric such as tensile strength, fabric stiffness, and elongation % using
artificial neural networks. An optimal neural network structure was developed by
changing the number of neurons. The best one selected is 10 to obtain the best
training performance results (R=1.00). In general, the ANN achieved a high
performance in predicting all properties, with high values of R2 (0.97 to1.00) with
least values of MSE(0.00 to 0.07), RMSE (0.02 to 0.27), MAE (0.02 to 0.19) and
MAPE (from 0.01% to 1.62%), which refer to the good fitting of this model and
strong relation between actual and predicted outcomes. Besides, there is no significant
difference between performance in the warp and weft directions. Because of its high
accuracy, this model is recommended for precisely predicting the mechanical
properties of plain woven fabrics, which will be helpful in weaving mills by
estimating all the properties required simultaneously. Hence, the testing cost and
material waste will be reduced. Thus, it will be beneficial in achieving high quality
with less cost.
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