An Experimental Study of the Needled Nonwoven Process Part II: Fiber Transport by Barbed Needles

The intended function of barbed needle punching is to transport loose fibers through the thickness of the web to consolidate them into a cohesive fabric. Needle punching inevitably causes some fibers to weaken and even break. Parts II and III will deal with the experimental determination of these changes caused by needle punching. This part of the series reports an experimental technique for determining fiber transfer efficiency by needle punching in terms of the quantity of fibers transported through the needled fabric. The technique includes the steps of placing a layer of coloured fibers in the feed web, collecting surface fibers from the needled nonwoven fabric, and measuring the percentage of colored fibers with an optical fiber diameter analyzer. The technique is used to investigate the effects on fiber transport of some needle loom and feed web conditions.