The role of geometry on the viscoelastic materials properties: tensile and stress relaxation of the yarn

The time-dependent mechanical behavior of textiles has particular importance. One of such behaviors is stress relaxation. When strain is applied constantly, there is a decreased stress with time in viscoelastic materials, which is called stress relaxation. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of knot’s geometry (surgeon, square and eight) and the number of knots on the tensile and stress relaxation properties of the polyester yarn. Significant differences were observed for the tensile characteristics of the yarn in the presence of the knot. Generally, the knotted yarns demonstrated lower tensile stress and strain at failure. Moreover, the results revealed that the stress relaxation behavior of the yarn is affected by the number of knots and their geometry. The yarn without knot exhibited the highest stress relaxation percent while the yarn with the surgeon’s knot displayed the least stress relaxation percent. On the other hand, increasing the number of knots led to a decrease in the percentage of yarn stress relaxation.