Mechanical Behavior of Thru-air Bonded Nonwoven Structures

Thermally bonded structures are amongst the most widely used nonwoven structures, with applications ranging from baby diapers to high performance geotextiles. These structures undergo various modes of deformation during their performance. In this study, the mechanical properties namely, tension, shear, bending and compression of thermal bonded polyester fabrics, have been investigated, including directional dependence of the tensile and bending tests, revealing anisotropic characteristics. In addition, the fiber orientation distribution was determined using two-dimensional (2D) image analysis of fabric cross-sections, a technique that is generally used for measuring fiber orientation in short-fiber reinforced composites. The ambiguities, errors and corrections employed in the measurements of fiber orientation are discussed. The initial tensile response of thermal bonded nonwovens has been predicted and compared with the experimental stress-strain curves obtained in various test directions. Bending and compression measurements were done on KES-F and shear measurements were carried out using picture frame test up to a shear angle of 45°.