Thermal behaviour of waterproof coated fabrics and identification of chemical groups present in melt-blown polyester non-woven fabrics coated with waterproof acrylic polymer binder

Abstract

Polyester non-woven fabrics are a good choice for base material in development of engineered waterproof fabrics. They find wide applications in bathroom floor lining, Roof lining, Car floor lining and many such applications. These fabrics not only provide strength and durability to the structure but also enhance the thermal as well as shelf-life of the structure. The presence of Chemical groups like ethylene functional group which is a chemical compound prominently present in polyester and observation of strong peaks of polyester functional groups aids in robust behaviour of the waterproof coated fabrics. These chemical groups present in the waterproof acrylic polymer binder also influences the development of durable fabrics with good hardness values. In this research a waterproof fabric for such applications is developed using a non-woven polyester fabric as the base material and roller coating process. The changes in the surface morphology of the fabrics is recorded and analysed using SEM micrographs. However, the analysis of thermal properties of these coated fabrics using DSC, TG/DTA instruments show melting of the coated material at 375 °C and TGA graphs show degradation of material occurring at 400 °C. The density measurement results show the fabrics ability to achieve lower values when nonwoven fabric layers are doubled which may be due to consumption of less binder and locking of air between layers. The Rockwell hardness results of 31.4 HRB (B scale) for single layer and 68.2 HRB for double layer proves the performance of the coated fabric at par with soft steel. The coated fabrics show zero air porosity when tested under air-permeability tester. The process of roller coating proves to be robust method of application of water proof polymer binder on non-woven fabrics.