MP 2001 Speakers


 

David Avril

 

Improvement in the Manufacture and Testing of Spunbound Giving Enhanced Fabric Properties

Dow & Low Ltd, Glamis Rd, Forfar, DD8 1FR, United Kingdom.
Biography

David Avril is Development Manager for Don & Low Ltd responsible for all technical activities and new product developments.

Don & Low are a textile manufacturer producing synthetic woven and non-woven fabrics. These activities are spread between 5 factories situated in Scotland and Greece. These fabrics are sold into a vareity of markets from construction and agriculture through to industrial workwear and medical.

David Avril is a member of The Royal Society of Chemistry with a chemistry degree obtained at Cambridge and Preston in England and has been involved in a technical capacity within the non wovens industry for almost 20 years.

New product developments are derived from customer led projects, from innovative raw materials introduced into the market, from innovations in manufacturing technology and from identifying and responding to marketplace trends. David’s role is to co-ordinate these activities in each of the market sectors. 		Abstract

Don & Low Nonwovens is a nonwoven manufacturer supplying into various medical end uses. The medical end-use applications of spunbound nonwovens include –

  • As a substrate for film coating for use in wound dressing
  • Modesty and surgeons gowns
  • Incontinence and hygienic bedding products

Working with our customers a programme of quantifying the fabric attributes important for these medical end-uses is ongoing along with work to enhance these features.

The measurements of common physical properties normally associated with nonwovens, such as tensile strength and elongation, are not necessarily of primary importance in medical applications.  Work has been conducted on modifying test methods such that they translate into an accurate performance measure in medical end-uses, such as –

  • The influence of multiple washing / laundering conditions
  • Fabric opacity, particularly important in the production of modesty gowns
  • Control of hydrostatic head, which can influence liquid barrier properties
  • Quantifying fabric softness both in terms of drape and feel

Factors in the manufacturing process that allow us to influence fabric properties will also be discussed. These include –

  • Different features of  thermal embossing

  • Utilisation of different polymers in the spunbound extrusion process

  • The use of additives into the molten polymer during the extrusion process

  • Influencing properties on fabric opacity will be discussed

  • Various techniques have been investigated to (1) improve fabric breathability to improve comfort and (2) optimise liquid hold out properties.