Introduction

Nonwoven fabrics are broadly defined as sheet or web structures bonded together by entangling
fibre or filaments mechanically, thermally or chemically. They are flat, porous sheets that are
made directly from separate fibres or from molten plastic or plastic film. They are not made by
weaving or knitting and do not require converting the fibres to yarn.

Nonwoven fabrics are engineered fabrics that may be a limited life, single-use fabric or a very
durable fabric. Nonwoven fabrics provide specific functions such as absorbency, liquid
repellency, resilience, stretch, softness, strength, flame retardancy, washability, cushioning,
filtering, bacterial barrier and sterility.

These properties are often combined to create fabrics suited for specific jobs, while achieving a
good balance between product use-life and cost. They can have the appearance, texture and
strength of a woven fabric and can be as bulky as the thickest padding. In combination with other
materials they provide a spectrum of products with diverse properties, and are used alone or as
components of apparel, home furnishings, health care, engineering, industrial and consumer
goods.

In medical we need several nonwoven products. Some are,

 isolation gowns
 surgical gowns
 surgical drapes and covers
 surgical scrub suits
 caps
Surgical mask

Surgical masks can be manufactured as a disposable product or non-disposal product. In a

surgical mask, there are some basic requirements such as,

 Elimination of liquid penetration while limiting the air penetration but there should not be
any difficulty in breathing only to control the transfer of germs

 Light weight

 Sufficient amount of strength

 Flexibility

Production

A spun laid web pp/pet blended crimped fibres will provide some of the above requirements such
as light weight and should be further improved to obtain the rest. Spun laid nonwovens are made
in one continuous process. Fibres are spun and then directly dispersed into a web by deflectors or
can be directed with air streams. This technique leads to faster belt speeds, and cheaper costs.
Several variants of this concept are available. PP spun bonds run faster and at lower temperatures
than PET spun bonds, mostly due to the difference in melting points

Spun bond has been combined with melt blown nonwovens, conforming them into a layered
product called spun-melt-spun. Melt blown nonwovens have extremely fine fibre diameters but
are not strong fabrics. Spun-melt-spun fabrics, made completely from PP are water-repellent and
fine enough to serve as disposable fabrics. Melt blown is often used as filter media, being able to
capture very fine particles. Spun laid is bonded by either resin or thermally.

Partial orientation of fibres of the web and later bonding with an adhesive will provide the
sufficient strength. But the web should not be too stiff and should not avoid the air penetration
entirely. Use of crimped fibres will reduce the stiff handle up to some extend and flexibility can
be further improved by applying softness at the finishing stage. But the chemical used here
should not be harmful if in haled while wearing for a long time to skin. Cleaning of the mask
should be done with steam or with paper chemicals (that depends on the types of fibre and other
chemicals used)

Also these products can be manufactured by using mechanical methods or wet laid web
formation. Wet laid nonwovens are made by a modified papermaking process. That is, the fibers
to be used are suspended in water, which is subsequently taken out.

The typical features of wetlaid fabrics are:

• Random orientation of fibers on the fabric surface

• Wider range of area density compared with dry laid technology

The wet laid fibers must be miscible in water so their main feature are:

• low surface tension (which is possible to adjust by surfactants

• small lenght or low ratio between the fiber length and diameter – it is possible to process
short fibers (2-50 mm)

• low crimpiness – it is possible to proces smooth fibers

A major objective of wetlaid nonwovens is to produce structures with textile properties at speeds
similar to papermaking process. Textile fibers tend to be longer, stronger and relatively inert
when compared to papermaking fibers, which are short, fine and are able to pack together into a
dense structure. The structure, which contains textile fibers, is more open and extensible but
preserves the basic strenght and stability of the fabric. Thus wet laid textile is stronger, softer,
bulkier, more drapeable, less smooth and more porous than paper.

There are three characteristic stages in the manufacture of nonwoven bonded fabrics by the wet-
laid method .

• Swelling and dispersion of the fiber in water; transport of the suspension on a continuous
traveling screen

• Continuous web formation on the screen as a result of filtration

• Drying and bonding of the web

These are comparatively with the above method. Use of finer cotton some other staple fibre can
be used in these methods. But a sufficient amount of bonding is needed to impart the required
strength. Needle punching will provide the strength needed. The compactness and the density of
the web should be set or controlled accordingly. The hairiness of the web can be controlled
through singing as a finishing process.

Advantages

1. High production speed of wet laid web formation (higher than the mechanical method)
than woven or knitted fabrics and relatively low cost

2. Characteristic of the web to be used of this particular end user can be further improved
through bonding and finishing process

3. These masks can be reused by a special process or can be disposed.

Disadvantages

1. Process of spun laid web formation is comparatively expensive

2. In some cases it is difficult to control the stiffness to gain the required flexibility and drag
without reducing the strength and dimensional stability.

3. There is a tendency for the short fibres to get removed from the end product due the
lesser amount of bonding and cohesion between fibres comparatively with woven or
knitted fabrics.

Assignment-1

APPLICATION OF NON WOVEN

SURGICAL MASK
 NAME : C.Shibani

INDEX NO : 081054X

MODULE CODE : TT3220

DATE OF SUB : 02.01.2011

New features of Professional surgical mask

This product makes up of surgical mask body and belt. The body is made up of three layers of
filter materials:

 The front and back layers are polypropylene glue nonwoven;

 The middle layer is melt-and-gush nonwoven that has higher particle filter efficiency.

 Top edge of the body have one plastics melt metal aluminum pieces of bridge of the nose
line, can make the position where bridge of the nose of the persons who wear and gauze
mask cling more closely.

1) used in hospitals, cleaning rooms, as well as for food preparation and

industrial environments
2) in two primary styles, ear loops adopt soft band elastic or with ties made
from spun bond
3) standard colors: white, green, blue, yellow, or pink
4) special colors can be provided upon request
5) material:
a) outer: cover stock
b) inner: cover stock
c) middle: filter medium
6) weight:
a) white: 25g/m², 20g/m²
b) light green, pink, blue: 15g/m²
7) with metal strip, inside stitch
8) 2 x loop size exposed: 175mm-5mm, 80mm-5mm
9) total width: (c.a.165mm) 380mm-5mm, 185mm-5mm

Reference

www.nonwovenmasks.com