PolyTex: A parametric textile geometry modeling package

About this project

PolyTex is an open-source toolkit for geometry modeling of woven textiles based on volumetric images. It provides functionality such as geometrical feature extraction, local variability analysis and textile geometry modeling. A meshing module was implemented to generate voxel meshes. Generation of tetrahedral conformal meshes will be implemented in future release. Local material properties are assigned to each cell in the generated mesh, such that the anisotropic and heterogeneity are reflected. This image-based model is commonly referred to as a "Digital Material Twin". The toolkit is designed to provide material scientists with accurate numerical models to predict composite behaviors while not requiring extensive experience in image processing and mesh generation. Hence, Application programming interface (API) for OpenFOAM and Abaqus is provided.

We release this toolbox as an open-source project aiming to facilitate the application of numerical simulations based on digital material twins to engineering problems. In this regard, the project is well documented (https://polytex.readthedocs.io/) and we would appreciate any contributions from the community (e.g. comments, suggestions, and corrections aimed at improving the software and documentation).

Our issue tracker is at https://github.com/binyang424/PolyTex/issues. Please report any bugs that you find or fork the repository on GitHub and create a pull request. We welcome all changes, big or small, and we will help you make the pull request if you are new to git.

We have made the PhD thesis, which covers the theoretical foundation of the code (Chapter 5) and its application in numerical simulations (Chapter 6), available in our GitHub repository (https://github.com/binyang424/PolyTex/tree/master/doc, file name: BinYang_Thesis_PolytechniqueMontreal.pdf). This is provided for users who may need guidance in adjusting the numerical parameters of the tool. Please note that the manuscripts detailing the development of the geometric modeling method and its application in numerical simulations have been submitted and are currently under review. The reference to the thesis will be replaced by the published articles once they are accepted, as improvements have been made based on the reviewers' comments.

PolyTex is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or any later version.

PolyTex is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See LICENSE for more details.

Installation

To install PolyTex using PyPI, run the following command:

$ pip install polytex

To install PolyTex from the source, begin by cloning the repository using git:

$ git clone https://github.com/binyang424/PolyTex.git

If you are unfamiliar with Git, you can refer to our tutorial Git for beginners. Alternatively, you can download a specific branch of the source code from GitHub as a .zip file at https://github.com/binyang424/PolyTex.

Once the repository is cloned, navigate to the root directory of the PolyTex repository where the setup.py file is located, and execute the following command:

$ python setup.py install

To install PolyTex using the wheel file, navigate to the subdirectory ./dist/ of the downloaded PolyTex repository, and run:

$ pip install polytex-<version>.whl

Contributing to PolyTex

Thank you for considering contributing to PolyTex! This project thrives on community contributions, and we appreciate your help.

How Can You Contribute?

• Reporting Bugs: If you find a bug, please open an issue at https://github.com/binyang424/PolyTex/issues. Provide as much detail as possible, including your environment, steps to reproduce, and the expected vs. actual behavior.

• Suggesting Enhancements: Have an idea for a new feature or an improvement? Feel free to open an issue and discuss it with the community.

• Code Contributions: If you want to contribute code to PolyTex, fork the repository, create a new branch for your changes, and submit a pull request. Follow the coding standards and make sure your changes are well-tested.

Getting Started

1. Fork the PolyTex repository.

2. Clone your forked repository to your local machine:

   $ git clone https://github.com/your-username/PolyTex.git

3. Create a new branch for your changes:

   $ git checkout -b feature/your-feature

4. Make your changes and commit them:

   $ git add .
   $ git commit -m "Add your commit message here"

5. Push your changes to your fork:

   $ git push origin feature/your-feature

6. Open a pull request on the PolyTex repository.

Code Style

Follow the established code style in the project. Make sure your code is well-documented and includes tests when applicable. See style guide for docstrings used with the numpydoc extension for Sphinx.

License

By contributing to PolyTex, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under the project's LICENSE.

Citation

To cite PolyTex in publications use:

• Yang, B., Béguin, C., Causse, P., & Wang, J. (2024). PolyTex: A parametric textile geometry modeling package. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11372679

• Bin YANG, Yuwei Feng, Cédric BÉGUIN, Philippe CAUSSE and Jihui WANG. Open Source Tool for Micro-CT Aided Meso-scale Modeling and Meshing of Complex Textile Composite Structures. Submitted to Composites Science and Technology (2024).

Or in Bibtex:

@software{yang_2024_11372679,
  author       = {Yang, Bin and
                  Béguin, Cédric and
                  Causse, Philippe and
                  Wang, Jihui},
  title        = {{PolyTex: A parametric textile geometry modeling 
                   package}},
  month        = may,
  year         = 2024,
  publisher    = {Zenodo},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.11372679},
  url          = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11372679}
}