Characterizing Lateral Contraction Behavior of Spunbonded Nonwovens During Uniaxial Tensile Deformation

Abstract

An experimental method based on video recording and image analysis is presented to characterize the lateral contraction of spunbonded nonwoven fabrics during uniaxial tensile deformation. A systematic study reports the effect of specimen dimensions on the nature of lateral contraction of a nonwoven fabric. Lateral contraction measure ments are made over the entire profile of the specimen, thus examining the validity of Saint Venant's principle to justify the assumption of homogeneous strain in the region of measurement. Some important observations are reported, which in future will influence the methodology of measuring transverse strains corresponding to applied longitudinal strains in a uniaxial test.