Testing equipment supplier Textechno, based in Mönchengladbach, Germany, and Saertex, a market leader in non-crimp fabrics (NCFs) based in Saerbeck, Germany, have jointly developed international standard ISO 21765:2020 to quantify material behaviour in terms of drapability and deformability.

The new ISO 21765, allows the world-wide comparable measurement of all relevant parameters relating to the deformability and drapability of all kinds of fabrics, including woven, knitted and NCFs, as well as nonwovens, on Textechno’s Drapetest precision testing equipment.

This can be particularly useful in carbon fibre recycling, since one of the most efficient applications for recycled carbon fibres will be in nonwovens.

Drapetest is the first testing instrument world-wide to quantify not only the force which is required for deforming a fabric, but also the various defects such as gaps, undulation, or wrinkles which can arise due to the deformation.

Textechno developed Drapetest in a publicly funded project which started in 2011, along with partners including Saertex. 

“With ISO 21765, we finally have a standardised testing method with world-wide validity,” said Dietmar Möcke, CTO at Saertex. “It allows us to provide our customers with comparable and reproducible measurement values regarding the draping characteristics of our products.”

“We are grateful for the support from all around the world allowing us to establish the new ISO standard,” added Textechno managing director Ulrich Mörschel. “The standard finally fills a gap in the testing methods for fabrics, both in the fields of textiles and composites.”

“A lot of research is dedicated to new production technologies of composites, and non-crimp fabrics and classical fabrics for thermosets have a significant 33% market share in the production of all composite materials,” explained Dr Michael Effing, managing director of AMAC GmbH and senior advisor to Textechno. “The application of the new standard for nonwovens from recycled carbon fibres comes is perfectly timed for this market sector, which will increasingly gain in importance within the next few years.”

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