GLOSSARY of GLOSSARY NONWOVENS TERMS For further information please contact EDANA Tel: +32 (0) 2 734 93 10 Fax : +32 (0) 2 733 35 18 Email: [email protected] www.edana.org www.edana.org A ABRASION RESISTANCE The ability of a fibre or fabric to withstand surface wear and rubbing ABSORPTION The process by which a gas or liquid is taken up within a material. ACTINIC DEGRADATION Strength loss or weakening of fibres and fabrics due to exposure to sunlight. ADDITIVES Chemicals added or incorporated in materials to give them different functional or aesthetic properties, such as flame retardancy and/or softness. ADHESION The force that holds different materials together at their interface. ADHESIVE A material, flowable in solution or when heated, that is used to bond materials together. ADHESIVE MIGRATION The movement of adhesive together with its carrier solvent, in a fabric during drying, giving it a non- uniform distribution within the web; usually increasing towards the outer layers. ADSORPTION The process by which a gas or liquid is taken up by the surface of a material. AESTHETICS Properties perceived by touch and sight, such as the hand, colour, lustre, drape, and texture of fabrics. AFTERGLOW The flameless, ember-like burning of a fabric. EDANA 2 AFTER TREATMENT (FINISHING) Process usually carried out after a web has been formed and bonded. Examples are embossing, creping, softening, printing and dyeing. AGGLOMERATION A cluster of particles or fibres. AGEING Processing in which products are exposed to environmental conditions that simulate real use or accelerated use, for the purpose of determining their effect on the functional and aesthetic properties of the products. AIR FORMING Utilising air to separate and transport fibres to form a web. AIRLAYING Forming a web by dispersing fibres in an air stream and condensing them from the air stream onto a moving screen by means of a pressure or vacuum. AIRLAID A web of fibres produced by airlaying. AIRLAID NONWOVEN An airlaid web bonded by one or more techniques to provide fabric integrity. AIR PERMEABILITY The porosity or the ease with which air passes through a fabric. AMORPHOUS Not crystalline. A random rather than a regular arrangement of chains of molecules within regions of a polymer or fibre. ANIONIC COMPOUND A chemical carrying a negative electrical charge. ANISOTROPIC Not having the same physical properties in every direction. In the plane of the fabric, it is related to a non-random distribution of fibres or filaments. ANTIFOAMING AGENT An additive that minimises the formation of bubbles within or on the surface of a liquid by reducing the EDANA 3 surface forces that support the bubble's structure (see SURFACE TENSION). ANTIOXIDANT An additive that retards the deterioration of a material's functional and aesthetic properties by reaction with the oxygen in the air. ANTISTAT An additive that reduces the accumulation or assists the dissipation of electrical charges that arise during the processing of fibres, fabrics and films and during the use of such materials. ATTENUATION Drawing or pulling of molten polymer into a much reduced diameter filament or fibre. EDANA 4 B BACKING A web or other material that supports and reinforces the back of a product such as carpeting or wallpaper. BALE A compressed and bound package of fibres - a common shipping package for fibres. BATCH A number or an amount of items forming a group i.e. a batch (amount) of fibres. BASIS WEIGHT The mass of a unit area of fabric. (MASS PER UNIT AREA) Examples: grams per square meter - ounces per square yard. BATTING A soft bulky assembly of fibres, usually carded. A carded web is sometimes referred to as a batt. BEATER 1) The machine that does most of the fibre separation and cleaning in the processes of picking and opening, that occur before the fibre is carded to form a web. 2) A piece of paper making fibre preparation equipment which permits the mechanical treatment of cellulose fibres in water to produce fibrillation. BICOMPONENT FIBRES Fibres consisting of two polymeric compounds arranged in a core-sheath (concentric or eccentric) or a side by side or a matrix or 'islands in the sea' configuration, chosen too ensure one component softens at a sufficiently lower temperature than the other in order to maintain the structural integrity or to create specific characteristics. BINDER An adhesive substance, generally a high polymer in a solid form (powder, film, fibre) or as a foam, or in a liquid form (emulsion, dispersion, solution) used EDANA 5 for bonding the constituent elements of a web or enhancing their adhesion, in order to provide the nonwoven fabric cohesion, integrity and/or strength and additional properties. BINDER CONTENT The mass of adhesive used to bond the fibres of a web together - usually expressed as percent of the fabric weight. BINDER FIBRE Generally, thermoplastic fibres used as thermal bonding fibres in conjunction with other fibres with a higher softening point or non-melting fibres. Some binder fibres that may not be thermoplastic can be activated by solvent (e.g. water). BIODEGRADABLE The ability of a substance to be broken down by bacteria so that it can be consumed by the environment. BIODEGRADATION Conversion of organic compounds to inorganic constituents, naturally occurring gases and biomass, by the action of micro-organisms. BLEND A combination of two or more fibre types in making fabrics. BONDING Conversion of a fibrous web into a nonwoven by chemical (adhesive/solvent) means or by physical (mechanical or thermal) means. The bonding may be distributed all over (through or area bonding) or restricted to predetermined, discrete sites (point or print bonding). BOND STRENGTH Amount of force needed to delaminate a composite structure or to break the fibre-to-fibre bonds in a nonwoven. BLEACHING Chemical treatment with compounds that release chlorine or oxygen, to increase the whiteness of fibres and fabrics. EDANA 6 BREAKING LENGTH The length of a strip of fabric or film whose weight is equal to the force needed to break it. It is calculated by dividing the force needed to break by the basis weight. BUCKLING To give way or deform under longitudinal pressure. BULKING Processes that develop greater fullness, volume and crimp in fabrics. BURNING RATE The speed at which a fabric burns. This can be expressed as the amount of fabric affected per unit time, or in terms of distance or area travelled by flame, afterglow or char. BURSTING STRENGTH The maximum pressure needed to rupture a material. The pressure should be applied to a specified circular area of the test piece of material. EDANA 7 C CALENDER A machine used to bond fibres of a web or sheets of fabric or film to each other or to create surface features on these sheets. It consists of two or more heavy cylinders that impart heat and pressure to the sheets that are drawn between them. The rollers can be mirror smooth, embossed with a pattern, or porous. CALENDER BONDING A process for thermally bonding webs by passing them through the nip of a pair of rolls, one or both of which are heated. Plain or patterned rolls may be employed (see POINT BONDING). Alternatively, a blanket calendar may be used. CALENDERING A mechanical finishing process used to laminate or to produce special surface features such as high lustre, glazing and embossed patterns. CARD A machine designed to separate fibres and remove impurities; align and deliver them to be laid down as a web or to be further separated and fed to an airlaid process. The fibres in the web are aligned with each other predominantly in the same direction. The machine consists of a series of rolls or a drum that are covered with many projecting wires or metal teeth. These wire-clothed rolls or drums are called cards. CARDING A process for making fibrous webs in which the fibres are aligned essentially parallel to each other in the direction in which the machine produces the web (machine direction). CARDING WILLOW A machine designed to give a gentle carding treatment to the fibre. EDANA 8 CARDED A web of fibres produced by carding. CARDED NONWOVEN A carded web, bonded by one or more techniques to provide fabric integrity. CARPET BACKING Support sheet on the back of a carpet through which the tufts are inserted or adhered. CATALYST A chemical that changes the rate of a chemical reaction, usually to speed it up, and is not consumed to form the product. CATIONIC A chemical carrying a positive electrical charge. CELLULOSIC FIBRES Made from plants that produce fibrous products based on polymers of the cellulose molecule. Cotton plants produce separate cellulose fibres, whereas wood pulp is made by mechanically and/or chemically separating wood fibres. Other sources of cellulose are fibres such as flax manila, ramie and jute. Rayon is made by dissolving wood pulp in a solution and extruding that solution through spinnerets into a chemical bath that regenerates the fibres. CHAR The flame affected part of a fabric after it has been burned. CHEMICAL BONDING A method of bonding webs of fibres by chemical agents that may include adhesives and solvents. The process may entail one or more of the following methods: impregnation, spraying, printing and foam application. NOTE: chemical bonding using chemical agents occurs only in a reactive system, e.g. a cross- linkable dispersion. Normal polymer bonding as it happens with non-reactive polymer binders (e.g. fibres, adhesives or lattices) is a physical process. EDANA 9 CHEMICAL FINISHING Processes that apply additives to change the aesthetic and functional properties of a material. Examples are the application of antioxidants, flame retardants, wetting agents and stain and water repellents.