Energy transfer during the hydroentanglement of fibres

Abstract

The hydroentanglement of fibres is achieved by the energy of the high-velocity waterjets. This method is highly energy intensive and costly, hence the attempt to study the energy transfer during the process. Generally, the amount of energy used, and the resultant degree of fibre entanglement, determines the tensile strength of the nonwoven fabric as a consequence of the inter-fibre friction. Here, the relationship between ydroentangling energy from the waterjets and the changes it brings about in the nonwoven fabric strength were studied. In the study, the energies of the waterjets transferred to every fabric sample as a function of the waterjet pressure, machine speed, machine efficiency and the web area weight were quantified, and the resultant fabric tensile strengths were compared.