The plate compression property of warp-knitted spacer fabrics greatly determines their industrial application in cushions and mattresses, which can be regulated by the structure and property of spacer filaments of spacer fabrics. To better meet application requirements, this paper detailed a study on the relationships between the geometry and property parameters of spacer filaments and the plate compression property of spacer fabrics. A three-dimensional structure model was firstly developed using the finite element method based on a typical spacer fabric. The model shows a satisfactory prediction of the compression force–strain curve of the spacer fabric compared with the corresponding experimental curve. Consequently, the effects of geometry parameters, including height, diameter, arrangement density and bending angle of spacer filaments, and Young’s modulus of the filaments on the compression behavior of spacer fabrics were investigated using the validated model by adjusting the corresponding geometry and property parameters. The stress nephogram and stress distribution along the filaments at compression strain 0.6 were analyzed to discover the deformation mechanism of spacer filaments under compression. It was found that the spacer fabric with smaller filament height, courser filament diameter, larger bending angle, higher arrangement density and Young’s modulus of filaments had higher compression resistance. This study is useful to optimize the performance of spacer fabrics in design and manufacturing by purposefully tuning the geometry and property parameters.

This paper reports the compressive behavior and low-velocity impact behavior of warp-knitted spacer fabrics (WKSFs) filled with shear thickening fluid (STF) when subjected to quasi-static compression and low-velocity impact loadings, respectively. In the steady rheological test, the STF experiences a shear thickening transition at a critical shear rate. Besides, the critical shear rate decreases with the increase of silica mass fraction. The compression curves of WKSFs filled with STF composites were consistent with those of WKSFs, including initial, elastic and compaction stage. As the compression speed increases, the overall compression load values of WKSF and WKSFs filled with STF composite increase. Moreover, the compression load of composite increases with the increase of silica mass fraction. Compared with WKSFs, WKSFs filled with STF composite composites need more work to deform under the same strain. The impact result reveals that STF-filled WKSF would absorb more energy and keep the peak load at a lower level than WKSF under the same impact loadings. In a certain range, the energy absorption of composites becomes more excellent with the increasing silica mass fraction. However, over a certain range, the energy absorption of the composite decreases with the increase of the mass fraction of silica. It was concluded that the STF-filled WKSF composite could be expected as a damping or energy-absorptive material for human body protection.