Effect of bonding temperature on load-deformation structural changes in point-bonded nonwoven fabrics

We have recently reported on in situ experimental visualization and measurement of the structural changes that occur during controlled deformation experiments for a point-bonded nonwoven fabric. This paper extends that work to a series of point-bonded nonwovens with different processing conditions. We demonstrate that changes in the structure are driven by the initial orientation distribution function (ODF) of the fibers. We show that changes in the bond spot strain, unit bond repeat pattern strain, and shear deformation of this unit cell as a function of applied macroscopic deformation are similar for all structures with the same initial ODF.