Unsteady-state Liquid Transport in Engineered Nonwoven Fabrics having Patterned Structure

The initial stage of liquid absorption in unsaturated nonwoven fabrics (e.g. dry wipes, absorbent materials and hygiene products) is an unsteady-state fluid flow. For the purpose of the engineering design of these nonwoven products, there is a need to predict the unsteady-state fluid flow in both homogeneous anisotropic nonwoven structures and heterogeneous patterned nonwoven fabrics having a dual-scale porosity structure. In this paper, the unsteady-state liquid wicking in homogeneous anisotropic nonwoven fabric structure has been modeled, and the relationship between unsteady-state liquid absorption in patterned nonwoven fabrics and its structural parameters has been established based on the fabric structural parameters.