Development of a novel test method for the measurement of fuzz in nonwovens

Abstract

Quantitative evaluation of fuzz in nonwovens is of significant interest as nonwoven products are typically subjected to abrasion during service. In this work, the initial level of fuzz and its growth were quantified for polypropylene (PP) spunbond thermally point-bonded nonwovens in three different basis weights representing the range of nonwovens used in most disposable products. We used noncontact confocal laser microscopy coupled with three-dimensional image analysis to quantify the volume of fuzz. Fuzz data generated by using this novel test set-up was verified by statistical analysis, resulting in repeatable and reproducible results. This represents the first in a series of publications dedicated to the study of fuzz.

Keywords:

• Fuzz
• spunbond
• thermal bonding
• nonwovens
• measurement method

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.