INVESTIGATION OF FLUID DISTRIBUTION AND REWET PERFORMANCE WITH THE USE OF DIFFERENT INNER LAYER DESIGN AND TOP SHEETS IN SANITARY NAPKINS

Abstract

Disposable hygienic products are classified as technical textile products and are used intensively in the field of medical textiles. As a hygienic textile product, a sanitary napkin consists of a top sheet, an inner layer (Acquisition Distribution Layer (ADL) and a core of Pulp/Superabsorbent mixture), and a back sheet. Nonwovens are commonly used in the production of these components. The most important factors to consider in new product design are rapid absorption of menstrual fluid, comfort, and also price. In this context, although there is a cost restriction on sanitary napkins, it is clear that the use of different new raw materials and methods will improve their performance characteristics. In this study, a new designed airlaid composite nonwoven combined with synthetic fiber and wood pulp was used as the inner layer of a sanitary napkin without the core. In addition, four different top sheet types were used in the sanitary napkin design. Liquid strike through time, rewet, and menstrual fluid diffusion of the samples were determined, to compare the performance of sanitary napkins with core and without the core. It was concluded that the inner layer design has a significant effect on the liquid strike through time and menstrual fluid diffusion properties. It has been revealed that the menstrual fluid diffusion value of airlaid composite nonwoven sanitary napkins is higher than the ADL+core inner layer. In addition, it was concluded that the top sheet type did not have a statistically significant effect on liquid strike through and rewet properties.