Abstract
This study investigates the compression behaviour of plain weave and twill weave jute fabrics under varying pressures, emphasizing their structural and deformation characteristics, highlighting jute as a sustainable and eco-friendly fibre for future technical applications. Experimental data reveal that plain weave fabrics exhibit rapid thickness reduction at low pressures (0–5 kPa), stabilizing at a compact state with a final thickness between 0.8 mm and 1.0 mm. In contrast, twill weave fabrics display higher initial thickness (2.0 mm) due to greater yarn linear density, with a gradual thickness reduction across the pressure range, stabilizing between 1.3 mm and 1.5 mm beyond 10 kPa. The negative power law fitting models were successfully applied to predict the compression behaviour. The newly developed three-layer fabric structure accounts for the highly stiff protruding fibres and incompressible core, which comprises 65% of the total thickness, with the outer layers contributing 17.5% each. This study provides the significant role of weave structure, crimp, and layer composition in fabric compressibility, providing insights for applications specifically for technical textiles.