Alternating Yarn Bands Woven Sleeve for Kink Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Woven textile sleeves with high hoop strength are inflexible and prone to kinking when routed over circuitous paths, while those with increased flexibility lack hoop strength and are susceptible to crushing and contamination ingress.
Innovation Solution
A wrappable sleeve with alternating discrete flexible bands and intervening bands of varying weft yarn diameters, where smaller diameter yarns provide flexibility and larger diameter yarns enhance hoop strength, preventing kinking and crush damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If stiff weft monofilament yarns are used to provide high hoop strength, then the sleeve resists crushing and flattening, but the sleeve becomes inflexible and prone to kinking when routed over circuitous paths
Solution Approach 1:
The sleeve is segmented into alternating bands of different weft yarn types along its length. Some bands use stiff monofilament yarns for hoop strength, while other bands use flexible multifilament yarns for flexibility. This segmentation allows the sleeve to simultaneously possess regions of high strength and regions of high flexibility, resolving the contradiction between hoop strength and flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the sleeve are assigned different local qualities by varying the weft yarn type in alternating bands. The stiff yarn bands provide localized hoop strength where crushing resistance is needed, while the flexible yarn bands provide localized flexibility for routing around corners. This local differentiation resolves the global contradiction by optimizing each region for its specific function.
2Ease of operation
If flexible multifilament weft yarns are used to increase flexibility, then the sleeve can be routed about circuitous paths, but the hoop strength is greatly reduced making the sleeve prone to crushing
Solution Approach 1:
The sleeve alternates between bands of flexible multifilament yarns and bands of stiff monofilament yarns. The flexible bands enable the sleeve to bend and route around corners without kinking, while the stiff bands maintain sufficient hoop strength to prevent crushing. This segmented approach resolves the contradiction by distributing flexibility and strength requirements to different regions.
Solution Approach 2:
The sleeve applies local quality by assigning flexible multifilament yarns to specific bands where flexibility is prioritized for routing, while assigning stiff monofilament yarns to alternating bands where hoop strength is prioritized for crush resistance. This localized optimization resolves the contradiction between overall flexibility and overall hoop strength.
3Strength
If the sleeve is made inflexible to maintain high hoop strength, then crushing protection is improved, but the sleeve forms openings along the seam when bent around corners
Solution Approach 1:
The sleeve is divided into alternating bands of stiff and flexible yarns. The flexible bands are positioned at locations where bending and corner routing are expected, allowing these sections to flex without forming seam openings. The stiff bands maintain hoop strength in regions where crushing protection is the primary concern. This segmentation resolves the contradiction between hoop strength and seam integrity under bending conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the sleeve are given different local qualities: flexible multifilament yarns in bands prone to bending to maintain seam integrity, and stiff monofilament yarns in bands requiring maximum hoop strength. This local differentiation prevents seam openings in flexible regions while maintaining crushing resistance in stiff regions.
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 2
AI summary
A wrappable textile sleeve and method of construction thereof is provided. The wrappable textile sleeve includes an elongate wall extending along a longitudinal axis between opposite ends with lengthwise extending edges extending parallel or substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis between the opposite ends. The wall is woven from lengthwise extending warp yams and circumferentially extending weft yarns. The weft yams form a plurality of discrete annular bands, with adjacent bands having weft yams of different diameters to provide the wall with discrete enhanced hoop strength regions and with discrete enhanced flexibility regions, where the enhanced hoop strength and enhanced flexibility regions alternate in adjacent relation with one another.