A Particle-Based Computational Model of Cloth Draping Behavior

Abstract

We report on a particle-based model that we have used to reproduce the draping behavior of cloth. The model utilizes a microscopic representation that directly models the interactions between the yarns in the weave of the material, rather than using a macroscopic continuum approximation to the material. Because the model incorporates the micro-structure of the material, it can be easily extended to incorporate important material nonlinearities such as the frictionally-based mechanical interactions between fibers that give cloth its ability to be shaped, pressed, and formed.

Every time a tablecloth is draped over a table it will fold and pleat in unique ways, but nevertheless, each tablecloth will have its own characteristic “signature”. Since our model exhibits this same type of behavior, visualization was our primary means for experimental verification and evaluation. We provide a description of how visualization was used in this research, and include sample visualizations.