The Influences of Hydrophilic Finishing of PET Fibers on the Properties of Hydroentangled Nonwoven Fabrics

Wang Hong, Pang Lianshun,Jin Xiangyu, Yin Baopu, Wu Haibo Key Laboratory of Textile Science & Technology, Ministry of Education, Donghua University, 201620, China. Wang Hong Correspondence to: email: wanghong@dhu.edu.cn

ABSTRACT Common polyester fibers are hydrophobic in nature. Thus it is hard to process the fibers in the hydroentangled nonwoven process and the resultant nonwoven fabric is hydrophobic as well. In this paper, two kinds of polyester fibers treated with different hydrophilic finishing agents and one common polyester fiber were formed into nonwoven fabrics by using hydroentanglement process. The influences of the hydrophilic and friction properties of the PET fibers on the properties of hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics were studied. Keywords: hydrophilic finishing; hydroentanglement; nonwovens INTRODUCTION Hydroentangled nonwoven fabric is perhaps the fastest growing nonwoven fabric due to its relatively high strength, softness, drape and comfortability. The fabric is formed by impacting webs of fibers or filaments with high velocity water jets on a water permeable support surface to induce fiber entanglements and to enable the formation of a mechanically bonded structure [1]. A schematic diagram of the hydroenatngling process is shown in Figure 1. It is well known the fact that fiber mechanical properties contribute both to the fiber behaviours in processing and the final nonwoven fabric properties. The effects of fiber properties on the tensile properties and therefore bonding in hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics were previously discussed [2]. However, little research has been reported to relate fiber surface properties, especially the hydrophilic and friction properties, to fabric performance. 26 Journal of Engineered Fibers and Fabrics Volume 5, Issue 4 - 2010 http://www.jeffjornal.org PET;
FIGURE 1. A schematic diagram of the hydroentangling process

On the other hand, in the textile industry, owing to the excellent physical and chemical properties and economical properties, the polyester represented with poly (ethylene terephthalate) has widely been used as a raw material for woven fabrics and nonwoven fabrics (such as spunbond nowoven fabrics and needle punching nonwoven fabrics). However, the polyester type fiber is a hydrophobic fiber and has disadvantages that it is hard to process the fiber in the hydroentangled nonwoven process and that the resultant nonwoven fabrics are hydrophobic. In order to improve such disadvantages, a variety of methods have been proposed [3]. In China, Yizheng Chemical Fibers Co. successfully marketed two kinds of hydrophilic PET fibers specially used for hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics [4]. It is believed that the hydrophilic finishing can improve the hydroentangling performance of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics. However, there is no thorough scientific research on the influences of the hydrophilic surface finishing of fibers on the hydroentangling process and the properties of the resultant nonwoven fabric.

In this paper, two kinds of polyester fibers treated with different surface finishing agents and one common polyester fiber were formed into nonwoven fabrics by using hydroentanglement process in our laboratory. The relationships between the properties of fibers and the corresponding nonwoven fabrics were analyzed and the influences of hydrophilic finishing on the hydroentangling performance were investigated as well. EXPERIMENTAL Materials Three kinds of PET staple fibers (1.56dtex38mm), i.e. PET fiber A, PET fiber B and PET fiber C, were obtained from Yizheng Chemical Fibers Co. (China). PET fiber A is a kind of common polyester fiber, PET fiber B and C were treated by two different hydrophilic surface finishing agents based on modified PET fiber A. All fibers were in bale form. Method Preparation of hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics Pre-webs of PET fiber A, PET fiber B and C were formed by carding and straight-lapping process, respectively. The basis weight of the webs was controlled as 60g/m2. Then the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics were made by using a Fleissner Aquajet Y500-2 hydroentangled machine with 1 manifold under the forming speed of 2m/min. The pre-webs were first compacted and prewetted underneath the jet head with the jet pressure of 15bar, and then treated by three passes on each side. Table I summarizes the pressure of the water jets of the hydroentanglement conditions for all the samples.
TABLE I. Pressure of the water jets of the hydroentanglement conditions

Liquid absorptive capacity of PET fibers and the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics were tested according to EDANA standard WSP 10.1. Moisture regain of PET fibers were tested by using Y802A Eight-Basket Oven (Changzhou Textile Instruments Factory Co., China) according to GB/T6503-2008 (China) standard. Mechanical properties of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics were tested by using YG028-500 Electronic Universal Strength Tester (Wenzhou Fangyuan Instrument Co., China) according to FZ/T60006-1991 (China) standard. Five specimens of each sample were tested in machine (MD) and cross-machine (CD) directions, respectively. The porosity of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics were tested by using CFP-1100AI Capillary Flow porometer (PMI Inc, America) according to ASTM E 1294. The air permeability property of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics were tested by using YG461D Digital Air Permeability Tester (Wenzhou Fangyuan Instrument Co., China) according to GB/T5453-1997 (China) standard. The contact angle of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics were measured by using JC2000A Contact Angle Tester (Shanghai Zhongchen Digital Technical Apparatus Co., China) according to ASTM D5725. The contact angles of the three kinds of fibers were measured by using OCA40 Micro Optical Contact Angle Measurement (Dataphysics, German). The surface of PET fibers before and after hydroentanglement was observed by using JSM-5600LV (GEOL Co., Japan) scanning electron microscope (SEM) at 10 kV. All samples were sputtered with gold

Pass No. (first side) Pass No. (second side)

1 2 3 1 2 3

Pressure (bar) 20 40 60 20 40 60

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Properties of PET fibers treated with different hydrophilic finishing agents The mechanical properties, hydrophilic properties (such as moisture regain and liquid absorptive capacity properties), and friction properties of PET

Measurements Mechanical properties of PET fibers were tested by using LLY-06E Electronic Single Fiber Tensile Tester (Laizhou Electronic Instruments Co., China) according to GB/T14337-2008 (China) standard. Coefficients of dynamic and static friction of PET fibers were measured by using Y151 Fiber Friction Coefficient Gauge (Changzhou No.2 Textile Instruments Co., China). 27 Journal of Engineered Fibers and Fabrics Volume 5, Issue 4 - 2010

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Table II. Properties of PET fibers

Items Tensile strength (cN/dtex) Elongation (%) Initial modulus (cN/dtex) Moisture regain (%) Liquid absorptive capacity (%) Coefficient of static friction Coefficient of dynamic friction Contact angle ()

PET fiber A 5.05 17.3 33.1 21 1377 0.30 0.23 98.4

PET fiber B 5.04 23.2 29.5 27 1438 0.36 0.27 95.4

PET fiber C 5.02 25.8 27.2 35 1470 0.41 0.29 90.2

Mechanical properties of PET hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics Three kinds of hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics with PET fiber A, PET fiber B and C were formed and their mechanical properties were tested and shown in Table III.
TABLE III. Mechanical properties of hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics

Hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics Items Tensile streng th (N) Elongation (%) BI (N*m2/g) MD CD MD CD PET fiber A 117.4 53.2 69.9 102.9 2.8 PET fiber B 219.5 127.1 60.7 87.4 5.8 PET fiber C 294.2 130.6 45.7 84.0 7.1

fiber A, PET fiber B and PET fiber C were tested and the results were shown in Table II. It can be found from Table II that the three kinds of PET fibers have similar tensile strength. The initial modulus of PET fiber A is slightly higher than that of PET fiber B and C, and the elongation of PET fiber C and B is slight higher than that of PET fiber A. On the other hand, the moisture regain and liquid absorptive capacity of both PET fiber B and C are higher than that of PET fiber A. The contact angle of PET fiber A is higher than that of PET fiber B, and that of PET fiber B is higher than that of PET fiber C. In addition, the coefficients of dynamic and static friction of PET fiber B and C are higher than that of PET fiber A, which may be caused by the hydrophilic finishing agents and moisture on the surface of PET fiber B and C. It is said that the hydroentanglement generally decreases with increasing fiber initial modulus [5]. Therefore, PET fiber B and C are two kinds of PET fibers specially used for hydroentanglement with lower initial modulus, better hydrophilic and higher friction properties.

It can be seen from Table III that the tensile strength (both in MD and CD) of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics of PET fiber B and C is significantly higher than that of PET fiber A. As shown in Table II, the tensile strength of the three kinds of fibers is almost the same, which suggests that the tensile strength of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics is irrespective of fiber strength. It is said that the tensile strength of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics positively correlates with the hydroentanglement intensity [5]. In order to characterize the hydroentanglement intensity, the bonding index (BI) is defined as follows: BI = (MD+CD)/W (cN /g m 2 ) (1)

Where MD and CD are the tensile strength of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics in machine direction and cross direction, respectively, W is the basis weight of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics. In equation (1), the tensile strength of the hydroentanlged nonwoven fabrics is normalized by the basis weight, thus BI of the hydroentanlged nonwoven fabrics with different basis weight can be compared with each other. It can be seen from Table III that the BI of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabric of PET fiber C is higher than that of PET fiber B, and BI of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabric of PET fiber B is higher than that of PET fiber A. Hence, the hydroentanglement intensity of the three samples can 28 http://www.jeffjornal.org

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be ordered as PET fiber C >PET fiber B>PET fiber A. This means that the hydrophilic finishing of PET fiber B and C benefits the hydroentangling during the hydroentanglement. In addition, the initial modulus of PET fiber B and C is slightly lower than that of PET fiber A, which may partly contribute to their higher hydroentanglement intensity as well, because it is said that the lower initial modulus of the fiber makes the entangling easier [5]. Thickness of the webs before and after hydroentanglement In order to characterize the hydroentanglement intensity of the three kinds of hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics, the thickness of webs before and after hydroentanglement were tested and the results were shown in Table IV.
TABLE IV. Thickness of the webs before and after hydroentanglement

characterized by testing their porosity and permeability and the results were shown in Table V.
TABLE V. Porosity and permeability of hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics

Hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics Items Mean flow pore diameter (m) Permeability rate (mm/s) PET fiber A 64.3 2496.4 PET fiber B 49.2 2335.72 PET fiber C 48.3 2163.8

Items

Thickness (mm)

Pre-web(mm) Nonwoven fabric (mm)

Hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics PET PET PET fiber fiber fiber A B C 18.4 17.4 16.6 1.20 1.13 1.05

It can be found from Table V that the mean flow pore diameter of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabric of PET fiber B and C is smaller than that of PET fiber A, which means that the hydroentanglement intensity of PET fiber C and B are higher than that of PET fiber A and there are more fibers per unit area of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics of PET fiber B and C. In addition, the air will encounter more flow resistivity of the fibers per unit volume of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics of PET fiber B and C because the smaller mean flow pore diameter of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics. Hence the air permeability rate of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics of PET fiber B and C are higher than that of PET fiber A. From the investigation of the thickness, porosity and permeability of the hydroenatangled nonwoven fabrics of PET fiber A, B and C, it can be concluded that the hydroentanglement intensity of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabric of PET fiber C is higher than that of PET fiber B, and that of PET fiber B is higher than that of PET fiber A. It suggests that the efficiency of energy absorption of PET fiber C is the highest during the hydroentanglement because of its lower initial modulus, better hydrophilic properties and higher friction property. Liquid absorption properties of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics Liquid absorption capacity is one of the key properties of hydroentangled nonwoven fabric because it is widely used as wipes, face masks, towels and so on [6]. In addition, in order to find out whether the hydrophilic finishing agents are still on the surface of the fibers after hydroentanglement, the liquid absorption capacity and contact angle of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics were tested and the results were shown in Table 6. 29

It can be seen from Table IV that the pre-web of PET fiber C is slightly thinner than that of PET fiber A and B with the same basis weight. This can be explained that the high moisture regain of PET fiber C benefits the carding and lapping process of the web formation. After hydroentanglement, the thickness of nonwoven fabric of PET fiber C was lower than that of PET fiber B, and the thickness of nonwoven fabric of PET fiber B was lower than that of PET fiber A, which means that the hydroentanglement intensity of nonwoven fabric of PET fiber C is higher than that of PET fiber B, and the hydroentanglement intensity of nonwoven fabric of PET fiber B is higher than that of PET fiber A, which is consistent to the results of BI. Therefore, it can be concluded that the mechanical and surface properties of PET fiber B and C make them entangle more efficiently, resulting with the high hydroentanglement intensity in the nonwoven fabrics. Porosity and permeability properties of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics The hydroentanglement intensity of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics can be further Journal of Engineered Fibers and Fabrics Volume 5, Issue 4 - 2010

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TABLE VI. Liquid absorption properties of hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics

C made it an ideal material for wipes, towels and face masks, etc. Surface of PET fibers before and after hydroentanglement In order to further prove whether the hydrophilic finishing agents are still on the surface of the fibers of PET fiber B and C after hydroentanglement, the surface of the three fibers before and after hydroentanglement were tested by SEM and the photos were shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3, respectively. It can be found from Figure 2 that there are more particles on the surface of PET fiber C, which means that particles on the surface of PET fiber C partly contribute to the increase of the friction. At the same time, it is clearly shown from Figure 3 that the particles are still on the surface of the fibers after hydroentanglement, especially PET fiber C, which suggests that the surface properties of the three fibers do not change obviously after hydroentanglement.

Items Liquid absorptive capacity (%) Contact angle ()

Hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics PET fiber PET fiber PET fiber B A C 483.0 133.5 900.3 127.8 1164.8 97.8

It is found from Table VI that the liquid absorptive capacity of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabric of PET fiber C is higher than that of PET fiber B and that of PET fiber B is higher than that of PET fiber A. At the same time, the results of their contact angle show the same trends. This means that the surface finishing agents still adhere on the surface of the fibers of PET fiber B and C after hydroentanglement. On the other hand, the liquid absorptive capacity of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabric of PET fiber C is significantly higher that of PET fiber A and B, which suggests that the structure of hydroentangled nonwoven of PET fiber C improves the water absorption. The excellent liquid absorption properties of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabric of PET fiber

(a) PET fiber A

(b) PET fiber B

(c) PET fiber C

FIGURE 2. SEM photos of PET fibers before hydroentanglement

(a) PET fiber A

(b) PET fiber B

(c) PET fiber C

FIGURE 3. SEM photos of PET fibers after hydroentanglement

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Analysis of the entangling point during tensile strength testing During the hydroentanglement, entangling points are formed among fibers due to the impact of the water jets and an entangling point is highlighted by the rectangle in Figure 3 (b). The entangling point of two fibers can be modelled as Figure 4.

During the tensile strength testing, when an incoming force F0 is applied on one end of the fiber II, an outgoing resisting force F1 will generate on the tangent point B of fiber I and II when fiber II is distangled from fiber I, as shown in Figure 5. It can be seen that the model is similar to the fiber capstan friction testing and the relationship between F1 and F0 can be written by the capstan equation as follows: F1 = F0 eu Where u is the friction coefficient of the fiber, is the contact angle of fiber I and II. As we know, the coefficient of friction of PET fiber B and C before hydroentanglement is higher than that of PET fiber A, and the hydrophilic finishing agents are still on the surface of the fibers of PET B and C after hydroentanglement, which means the coefficient of the friction of fibers in the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics of PET fiber C is higher than that of PET fiber B, and that of PET fiber B is higher than that of PET fiber A. According to the above equation, during the tensile testing process, F1 applied on PET fiber C, which will finally disentangle the entangling point of fiber I and fiber II, will be higher than that of PET fiber B and A. Hence the strength of the entangling points of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabric of PET fiber C is higher than that of PET fiber B, and the strength of the entangling points of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabric of PET fiber B is higher than that of PET fiber A. CONCLUSIONS In this paper, the properties of PET fibers after different hydrophilic finishing were tested and three kinds of hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics were obtained. It is found that hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics with higher absorption and mechanical properties were obtained from PET fibers with lower initial modulus, better hydrophilic properties and higher friction coefficient. From the analysis of the BI, thickness changes of the webs before and after hydroentanglement, porosity and permeability of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics, it is suggested that the hydroentanglement intensity of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabric of PET fiber C is higher than that of PET fiber B, and that of PET fiber B is higher than that of PET fiber A. In addition, the liquid absorption properties of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics and the investigation on the surface of PET fibers before and after hydroentanglement suggest that the hydrophilic finishing agents still adhere on the surface of the fibers of PET fiber B and 31 http://www.jeffjornal.org

FIGURE 4. The schematic drawing of the entangling point in hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics

It is said that the tensile strength of hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics is mainly determined by the strength of the bonding points [7]. In order to find out the reason why the tensile strength of the hydroentanlged nonwoven fabrics of PET fiber B and C is higher than that of PET fiber A, a model of the forces applied on the entangling point during the tensile strength testing is set up in Figure 5.

FIGURE 5. A model of the forces applied on the fiber during the tensile strength testing

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C after hydroentanglement. Finally, a model is set up to analyze the forces applied on the fibers in the entangling point during the tensile strength testing and an equation is established to correlate the outgoing resisting force applied on the fiber with its friction property. It is found that the strength of the entangling points of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics of PET fiber A, B and C can be ordered as PET fiber C >PET fiber B>PET fiber A In conclusion, the tensile strength of the hydroenatngled nonwoven fabrics increases with the hydroentanglement intensity and strength of the entangling points, and the hydroentanglement intensity and strength of the entangling points of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics increase with the hydrophilicity and friction properties of the fibers. Consequently, the tensile strength of the hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics of PET fiber B and C is higher than that of PET fiber A. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors thank for Yizheng Chemical Fibers Co. Ltd for supplying the fibers. REFERENCES
[1] Russell S.J. Handbook of nonwovens (vol.1), Cambridge: Woodhead Publishing, 2007. [2] Seyan A.M., Shiffler D.A.. An examination of the hydroentangling process variables, International Nonwoven Journal, 2005, 14(1):25-33. [3] Hamaguchi, Maruyama t, Tanaka H, Nishinaka, S., et al., US Pat., 6, 720, 070, 2004. [4] Wei J.R. Development of special PET staple fiber for production of spunlace nonwovens, Technical Textiles, 2006, 5, 18-23. [5] Mao N, Russell S.J. A framework for determining the bonding intensity in hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics, Composites Science and Technology, 2006, 66:80-91. [6] Ke Qinfei, Jin Xiangyu. Nonwovens, Donghua University Press, Shanghai, 2005. [7] Ghassemieh E, Acar M, Versteeg H.K. Improvement of the efficiency of energy transfer in the hydro-entanglement process, Composites Science and Technology, 2001, 61: 16811694.

AUTHORS ADDRESSES Wang Hong Pang Lianshun Jin Xiangyu Yin Baopu Wu Haibo Key Laboratory of Textile Science & Technology Ministry of Education Donghua University 2999 North Renmin Rd. Songjiang District Shanghai, CHINA 201620

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