In the automotive sector, textiles must be aesthetically pleasing but also be durable to survive years of abuse. Automobile owners will see the interior of the vehicle every time they enter, so the importance of aesthetics cannot be understated. The automotive market is incredibly competitive, so any advances in the material technology of these textiles can provide a substantial advantage.
Textiles Testing
The Challenge
Textiles can be difficult to test because they are a unique combination of being delicate, yet also strong in the tensile direction. This can make gripping these materials challenging.
Our Solution
Instron offers many solutions for high-strength textiles that can be difficult to grip properly.
Capstan grips allow for very high-strength specimens (seatbelts, for example) to be optimally gripped without allowing slippage while also not damaging the material, inducing premature failure. The capstan wraps specimens around its smooth surface.
Cord and yarn grips function on the same principle as capstan grips, creating a long smooth surface along which the stress concentrations can be spread, greatly reducing the chances of premature failure for cord and fiber specimens.
The Challenge
Many cars have leather interiors, leather gives a delicate touch of luxury and elegance to any car. It can be important to check the quality of leather used to cover airbags, including its behavior after sunlight and climate exposure.
Our Solution
Determining the performance of a material covering airbags involves many factors. Measuring the tensile strength of leather is determined during an impact according to ISO 8256 Method A. This can be achieved with a CEAST 9050 Impact Pendulum, the specimen (horizontally-oriented) is supported and clamped through a special vice. The free end of the specimen is clamped through a crosshead that will be impacted by the hammer. VisualIMPACT software allows for easy analysis of the test results. The material’s failure behavior would affect the way the leather cover of the airbag would break during an impact event and is therefore critical to the safety of the passengers.
THE CHALLENGE
Textiles can be difficult to test, especially some of the more durable types of textiles used for airbag material. The toughness of the material combined with the specimen’s uniform cross-sectional area can result in slippage during testing or premature specimen failure at the gripping point (jaw breaks).
THE Solution
Instron has created a set of integrated wedges that can easily be mounted on a set of 2712-04X grips. These pneumatic side action grips combined with the integrated wedges allow for testing of high-strength strips of material without slippage or jaw breaks while maintaining high throughput.
The wedges can easily be removed, and the grips can then be used as normal pneumatic side action grips.
The wedges are mounted directly to the grips, and specimens are wrapped around the wedge insert so that the amount of material being gripped is effectively doubled. Standard serrated jaw faces are then able to grip the material without inducing jaw breaks.