Abstract:

In the field of technical textiles, three-dimensional woven spacer fabrics and knit spacer fabrics are nowadays widely used. Nevertheless, 3D nonwoven structures produced without any threads are still a novel development. Here we examine the possibility of producing nonwoven spacers using 3D Web Linker®, Napco® technology, and study their properties and possible destinations.
Two pre-needled monolayers (85% recycled PES 6.88 dtex/97.4 mm, and 15% fusible fibres Co-PES 5 dtex/60 mm) of the same weight were bonded together on a 3D Web Linker® to produce nonwoven spacers, hereafter called Napco structures. A further thermal consolidation process was applied to all the samples, and structures identified as NapcoT were produced. The influence of the monolayers’ weight, technological parameters and thermal treatment on different physical and mechanical properties (weight, thickness, thermal properties, tensile properties and sound absorption coefficient) of the nonwoven spacer fabric was studied, and is presented further.
It was found that nonwoven spacers can be produced via the Napco® technology if the length of the fibres, the quality of the monolayers and the technological parameters are correctly chosen and correlated. The majority of the tested properties are influenced significantly by the technological parameters, but only slightly by the thermal treatment.