The process of making spun bond fabrics combines the production of fabrics with the production of filaments. High process efficiencies and excellent properties of these fabrics have made them acceptable in different areas of application like civil engineering, medical and hygiene, automotive industry, shoe industry and packaging. Controlling the structure and properties of the fabric is a difficult task as there are several process parameters affecting fabric properties besides the structure and properties of the filaments. Several scattered studies explain the influence of process parameters on filament and fabric properties but lot of information on the fabric properties is missing. A comprehensive review of the spun bonding technique, fabric characteristics and the process parameters is presented in this paper. An understanding on this will help in optimizing the process parameters for producing desired properties in the fabric.
Polypropylene spunbond, spunbond/meltblown/spunbond, and spunlace fabrics of 35 and 50 g/m 2 weight are tested for barrier properties against microorganisms and liquid or body fluids to estimate their suitability for surgical gowns. The fabrics are also treated with different levels of antibacterial and fluorochemical finishes in a single bath using pad-dry-cure method. Liquid barrier properties of samples are analyzed by water impact penetration, hydrostatic pressure test, and blood repellency test. Parallel streak method is used to measure the antibacterial activity on the fabric samples with Staphylococcus aureus. The fabric samples are also analyzed for air permeability and stiffness. It is observed that spunbond/meltblown/spunbond fabric of 35 and 50 g/m 2 weight offer sufficient liquid barrier properties for level 2 protection as per the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation barrier protection classification. Spunlace and spunbond fabrics of 35 and 50 g/m 2 weight offer only level 1 protection. Spunbond/meltblown/spunbond fabrics are poorest in terms of comfort, because of their higher stiffness and lower air permeability values; spunlace fabric offers the highest air permeability and lowest stiffness force. Spunbond/meltblown/spunbond fabric samples with 4% and 7% fluorochemical finish and 1.5% antibacterial finish can provide level 4 protection. Spunbond fabrics require 4% and spunbond/meltblown/ spunbond fabrics require 1% fluorochemical finish to achieve level 2 protection.
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