Liquid Transport Through Fabrics; Wetting and Steady-State Flow Part I: A New Experimental Approach

Abstract

1A new experimental method has been developed for studying wetting and steady-state liquid flow through fabrics. By moving a liquid into contact with and through a fabric at a constant rate while measuring the resulting changes in pressure, a much more detailed picture of the wetting-through process is achieved than has previously been possible. Evidence is presented that, in contrast to what has generally been assumed, fibrous materials can exhibit both a spontaneous wetting response on initial contact and a subsequent resistance to wetting-through. The effects of changing the liquid flow rate and of pre-wetting or re-drying the fabric samples were examined. Coarse metal screens, which were used at first to support the fabrics, were shown to have a considerable effect on certain of the wetting responses, a finding which has implications for all wetting studies in which a fabric is supported by a screen or other porous substrate. Subsequent papers will analyze in more detail the observed wetting and sttady-state flow responscs.