2 - Micromechanics of nonwoven materials

Abstract

Nonwoven is a ‘wonder material’ that has innumerable applications, but the governing micromechanics based on the structure-property relationship is fairly complex and needs to be unfolded. In this chapter, we review the key micromechanical models of nonwoven materials that have been used for predicting tensile, compression, and shear properties. This chapter begins with the classification of nonwoven materials, followed by their structural characterisation. Subsequently, we discuss the ‘backbone’ of micromechanical models, which is highlighted in the form of the theory of fibre–fibre contacts. This has directed us to introduce the expression of the number of fibre–fibre contacts in the mesodomain, which has been extensively used for predicting the underlying micromechanics of nonwoven materials. For benchmark purposes, a key set of micromechanical models are presented to predict the tensile, compression-recovery, and shear properties of nonwoven materials.