Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

8-1987

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Human Ecology

Major Professor

Larry C. Wadsworth

Committee Members

J. DeJonge, D. C. Bogue, M. H. Lietzke

Abstract

Spunlaced nonwoven fabrics used as operating room gowns and patient drapes were repellent finished with fluorochemical (FC) formulations utilizing foam, kiss roll and conventional padding application techniques. Excellent water, oil and alcohol repellency values were obtained with all three techniques, resulting in spray ratings of 90-100, oil drop ratings of 5-6, and alcohol drop ratings of 9-10. The samples passed the Mason Jar test which evaluates resistance of medical use fabric to the penetration of 0.9 percent saline solution. However, water Impact penetration values resulting from the one-sided foam application of FC finish to dry fabrics using Mykon NRW-3 foaming agent were in excess of 10 grams. On the other hand, padding application without surfactant in the formulation resulted in water Impact penetration values of less than 5 grams. Kiss roll applications of FC finish in the absence of surfactants indicated a favorable trend toward water Impact penetration resistance with increased wet pickup. Thus, it could not be clearly ascertained whether residual surfactant or low wet pickup application or if a combination of factors were responsible for the high impact penetration values.

Foam Finishing Technology (FFT) trials with one and two-sided foam application to wet fabrics passed the water impact penetration test. One-sided applications to dry fabric using Standapon 4377 appeared to result in improved impact penetration compared to Mykon NRW-3. This indicated that the proper selection of "nonrewetting" foaming agents has a notable effect on impact penetration resistance. Furthermore in the surfactant free application of the PC finish by the kiss roll technique only the samples subjected to a subsequent pad-nip resulted in penetration values of less than 5 grams.

It was suggested that the possible presence of residues of degraded foaming agents used could be detrimental to water resistance. It was also indicated that the penetration of the chemicals through the fabric improves the barrier and repellency performance. Finally, an equation was presented to predict the penetration of a given liquid through the fabric which could probably explain the performance of the finished fabric. Although water impact penetration was a problem with certain repellent finished samples, foam and kiss roll low wet pickup techniques can be used when this test is not an evaluation criterion.

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