Engineered nonwoven fabrics are ubiquitous in modern industry across an increasingly diverse range of sectors - civil engineering, energy, packaging, automotive, medical, filtration, transport, hygiene, construction, electronics and sustainable materials, to name but a few. The varied and combined properties of nonwoven fabrics, including absorbency, strength, softness, stretch, flame retardancy, liquid repellency and sterility, are increasingly exploited by companies worldwide, providing innovative and cost-effective solutions to countless development, manufacturing and process problems.
With over 450 projects completed for more than 200 clients across the above sectors and more, the Nonwovens Innovation & Research Institute (NIRI) has invested significantly in a range of new equipment, made possible by a move from the University of Leeds campus to a new facility, and giving NIRI even greater scope to help companies develop better-performing products and processes.
The Institute’s investment reflects the expansion of nonwoven technologies across multiple sectors, and responds to ever-increasing demands for product development and enhancement, cost-reduction and quality improvement, identification and evaluation of new markets, and the reduction of environmental impact. This last demand can be seen across all sectors - with growing public awareness and governmental responses to single-use and microplastics - and end of life, disassembly and product lifespan are key considerations for all industries surviving and growing in a circular economy.
Building on the expertise of Professor Stephen Russell, leader of University of Leeds’ Nonwovens Research Group and Technical Director at NIRI, the Institute’s team consists of highly qualified technical textile scientists with industrial experience and a proven track record of helping companies grow their businesses. Using Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) to demonstrate the innovation process, each project undertaken by NIRI – whether consultancy for commercial clients or co-funded joint ventures – is evaluated against the parameters for each technology level and then assigned a TRL rating based on the project’s progress. NIRI’s expertise is evidenced in the Institute’s focus on the ‘valley of death’ stage, the point of no return from which many novel technologies fail to progress, and the point at which the Institute’s expertise can be seen – working out how to develop existing proof-of-concepts and prototypes into commercially-viable products. The investment in new facilities includes a range of equipment (detailed below) all of which are already helping NIRI’s clients through the increased ability to manufacture and test new products.
Purchase of an Inovenso NE300 electrospinner responds to the increasing use of nanofibers across a whole range of sectors. A laboratory scale electrospinning unit, able to produce uniform nanofibrous structures at an area of up to ~24x37cm, the electrospinner is designed to be compatible with a broad range of polymers, PA, PET, PVA and PU, and various solvent systems. The unit works on a closed volumetric feed system to minimise solvent evaporation and is capable of utilising 1-9 of its nozzles. This allows small-scale investigation and parameter optimisation, before scaling to larger sample sizes – assisting with both the speed and the cost implications of testing and development.
A new Perfojet flatbed hydro-entanglement pilot line can work with widths ~35cm. The flexibility of this pilot line allows 1-3 injectors to be utilised with a varying hydro-entanglement pressure of 20-180 Bars, at belt speeds of 0-22m/min. With various jet strip diameters available to NIRI, from 90-140 µm, key hydro-entanglement processing parameters’ adjustment allows the degree of entanglement to be tailored to specified requirements.
NIRI’s new Phenom-Pro SEM is ideal for imaging nonwoven structures at micro-scale. With an acceleration voltage of 5-10kV, high resolution images can be produced without the need for an additional conductive coating. The SEM provides a powerful tool for understanding the characteristics of a nonwoven fabric, including; fibre orientation, manufacturing methods and blend composition. With the aid of an integrated software package, NIRI can produce fibre diameter distributions and surface pore area distributions autonomously.
Investment in a new liquid extrusion capillary flow porometer, a Porolux 100FW, helps NIRI’s clients through the quick quantification of through-pore diameters present in a nonwoven structure. The equipment uses gas-liquid extrusion to detect the smallest, mean flow and largest pore diameters while providing a relative air-flow distribution through the detected diameter range. The Porolux 100FW has the potential to measure through-pore diameters ranging from 0.43-500µm, making it ideal for characterising the pore sizes of a broad range of nonwoven media.
NIRI have responded to continued growth in the hygiene sector, where the balance of wet strength and user comfort is considered alongside biodegradability and dispersibility, through the specification and purchase of bespoke testing equipment. Their new liquid strike through time and re-wet testing equipment is designed in accordance to NWSP 070.7.RO (15) and NWSP 070.8.RO (15). This can accurately measure the penetration time for successive insults of a desired liquid through a sample’s surface in conjunction with the sample’s resistance to release liquid to its surface under loading. These measurements are particularly pertinent when analysing hygiene products, and considering end user comfort. A new fluff pulp specific volume and absorption tester SCAN-test, designed in accordance to SCAN-C 33:80, measures the specific volume of a pulp fluff specimen in conjunction with its absorbent capacity and the speed of a desired liquid under a standard load.
Dr Matthew Tipper, Business Director at NIRI, comments on the investment, “With over 10 years’ track record in successful R&D, helping clients develop and improve products and processes across numerous sectors, this further investment in testing and production equipment enhances our extensive facilities, building on our research excellence and further helping realise the business imperatives of our industry collaborators and commercial clients.”
To find out more about NIRI, visit: www.nonwovens-innovation.com