Nonwoven Fabric Studies

Abstract

This investigation has aimed at correlating nonwoven fabric properties, particularly those associated with fabric drape, with the properties of the component fiber and binder. Model fabrics have been constructed using one water-sensitive component whose properties could be varied by conditioning with water, water-methanol, or methanol. It has been found that the initial modulus of the fabric varies directly with the fiber modulus, in accordance with theoretical prediction, but is less sensitive to changes in the binder; the present results indicate a square root dependence on the binder modulus. The drape coefficient also varies markedly with fiber modulus and to a smaller extent with the binder modulus. It is clear that a nonwoven fabric made by conventional methods could be endowed with adequate draping characteristics if the fiber modulus were low enough; the figure tentatively suggested here is in the region of 30 g tex.