Pore size characteristics of nonwoven structures under uniaxial tensile loading

Nonwovens are highly porous structures consisting pores of complex shapes and sizes which are responsible for desired functional characteristics. In general, a nonwoven is often subjected to uniaxial tensile loading in various applications and it is of paramount importance to account for changes in structural characteristics including pore sizes during the loading conditions. In this research work, the pore size of thermally bonded nonwoven structures under uniaxial tensile loading at various levels of strains has been investigated. A theoretical model has been proposed that accounted for fibre reorientation and changes in the fibre volume fraction during the application of tensile strain. A comparison has been made between theoretical and experimental pore size distributions of thermally bonded nonwoven structures at defined levels of strains. Moreover, an attempt has been made to rationalise some of the contradictory literature results of pore size distributions of nonwoven structures under uniaxial tensile loading.