Modeling of the Stress-Strain Quality of Hydroentangled Nonwoven Fabrics

Abstract

Hydroentanglement is a mechanical bonding process designed to produce nonwoven fabrics with appearances and textures that resemble woven and knitted fabrics. Eleven samples of hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics with different compositions and weights were subjected to a series of uniaxial stress-strain tests. Models, ranging from the simple Kelvin to the more complicated Kelvin–Vangheluwe, were fitted to the experimental data to find a generalized and universal model. In this model, a nonwoven fabric was considered a nonlinear viscoelastic material. The combination of Kelvin and Vangheluwe models resulted in an excellent fit to the uniaxial stress-strain curves. The model-predicted results almost overlapped with the experimental data, an indication of its excellent accuracy in predicting the mechanical behavior of nonwoven fabrics.