TY  - JOUR
TI  - Research on the virtual simulation of the drape of cotton-linen blended fabrics of high bending rigidity
AU  - Rudolf, Andreja
AU  - De Raeve, Alexandra
AU  - Vasile, Simona
T2  - Industria Textila
AB  - A major challenge in virtual 3D garment prototyping is still the lack of precise and reliable simulation of the drape of
textile materials. Accurate simulation of the fabric drape depends on the CAD 3D programme used, the physical and
low-stress mechanical properties of the fabrics and the possibility of varying the simulation parameters, like the density
of the 3D fabric polygon mesh, which is particularly important for high-bending-rigidity fabrics. Hence, in this study, the
effect of the polygon mesh density on the virtual drape of heavy cotton-linen fabrics with high rigidity, suitable for spring
outwear garment, was investigated. Four fabrics were developed with identical yarns and fabric count and differentiated
by fabric weave. The virtual drape simulations of the fabrics were performed using the OptiTex software with variable
polygon mesh density (0.3–0.9) and were compared with the real fabric drape assessed by the Cusick Drape Tester. In
addition, the draping of two virtual 3D garments was analysed to identify differences due to variable polygon mesh
density. Largely different physical and low-stress mechanical properties of the fabrics, depending on weave, resulted in
different drape behaviour, with plain and satin fabrics displaying the highest (0.91) and lowest (0.86) drape coefficient,
respectively. Analysis of the drape coefficients of both real and virtually simulated fabrics suggests that more reliable
and realistic simulations of high rigidity fabrics can be achieved with low polygon mesh density (0.7 and 0.9). The density
of the 3D fabric polygon mesh slightly influences garment drape simulation and appearance. Specifically, for the skirt,
orthogonal projections reveal fold displacement and variations in fold shape and depth correlated with polygon mesh
density. These results can help garment developers to carry out realistic simulations of high-rigidity fabrics.
DA  - 2026/05/05/
PY  - 2026
DO  - 10.35530/IT.077.02.202556
DP  - DOI.org (Crossref)
SP  - 230
SN  - 1222-5347
UR  - https://revistaindustriatextila.ro/images/2026/2/006%20ANDREJA%20RUDOLF_INDUSTRIA%20TEXTILA%20no.2_2026.pdf
Y2  - 2026/05/17/13:55:23
ER  -