Original article

Textile Research Journal

83(11) 1103–1112

Damage analysis and notch sensitivity ! The Author(s) 2013

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of hybrid needlepunched nonwoven DOI: 10.1177/0040517512467063
trj.sagepub.com
materials

Amit Rawal, Sandeep Kumar Patel, Vijay Kumar,

Harshvardhan Saraswat and MM Alamgir Sayeed

Abstract
Needlepunched nonwovens are complex three-dimensional (3D) entangled fibrous materials which are extensively used
for a range of technical and industrial applications. The micromechanisms of deformation and fracture behavior of these
materials are complicated and least understood. In this study, the tensile behavior of virgin and notched samples is
investigated for hybrid needlepunched nonwoven materials consisting of polypropylene and viscose fibers in defined
proportions. The notches in nonwovens were induced by two types of mechanical damage (circular hole and vertical cut)
in three spatial positions of hybrid nonwovens tested in the machine, 45 , and cross-machine directions. The notch
sensitivity of hybrid nonwovens was demonstrated by localized fiber failures occurring around the region of induced
damages. It was established that the shape and spatial position of induced damage have significant influence on the tensile
behavior of hybrid nonwoven materials. Higher viscose contents (60–80 wt%) in notched hybrid nonwovens yielded
minimal tensile strength reduction specifically in the preferential (cross-machine) direction.

Keywords
fracture, hybrid, needlepunched nonwoven, notch, tensile

Nonwovens are complex three-dimensional (3D) fibrous geotextile applications offering cushioning and
materials consisting of fibers oriented in preferential or reinforcement against subgrade surface irregularities.
random directions that are bonded by thermal, chem- These surface irregularities can impart concentrated
ical, or mechanical techniques. Needlepunched nonwo- forces perpendicular to the plane of the geotextile lead-
vens are produced mechanically by the penetrating ing to its puncture failure.5 Subsequently, the needle-
action of needles consisting of barbs, which transports punched nonwoven may not be able to carry out
the fibers from the surface to the through-thickness dir- geotextile functions effectively. Hence, it is imperative
ection forming 3D intermingled or entangled materials. to understand the failure analysis of the nonwoven
In general, these materials are self-locking and coherent such that an appropriate ‘design criteria’ of geotextile
in nature, providing substantial resistance to tensile can be prescribed.
stresses in addition to high extensibility.1–4 Although Recently, a series of reports have been published to
the micromechanisms of deformation and fracture understand the deformation and failure processes of
behavior of these materials are least understood they unnotched and notched commercial polypropylene
still have been extensively used for ever-increasing appli-
cations, namely felts, floor coverings, geotextiles, con-
struction materials, membranes, filters, electrical cable
linings, cleaning and polishing products, sealing, pack- Indian Institute of Technology Delhi – Department of Textile Technology,
ing materials, composites, scaffolds, etc. These materials Hauz Khas, Delhi 110016, India
can get damaged while being used in such applications
Corresponding author:
and it becomes significantly important to understand Amita Rawal, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi – Department of
their deformation and fracture behavior. For example, Textile Technology, Hauz Khas, Delhi 110016, India.
needlepunched nonwovens are commonly used for Email: [email protected]
1104 Textile Research Journal 83(11)

spunbonded and glass fiber based felts.6–8 To the sets of needles punch the web in both upward and
authors’ knowledge, limited research work pertaining downward directions, similar to the needlepunching
to micromechanisms of deformation and fracture process employed by Watanabe et al.12 Hybrid needle-
behavior of needlepunched nonwoven materials can punched nonwovens were fabricated under identical
be found in the literature. Nevertheless, Mendes process conditions, i.e. punch density and depth
et al.9 have investigated various types of mechanical of needle penetration of 225 punches/cm2 and 10 mm,
damages in polyester filament based needlepunched respectively. The constituent fiber properties are shown
nonwoven geotextiles under predefined soil confine- in Table 1.
ment and in isolation conditions. It was observed that
Y cuts or holes made in the middle of geotextiles are Testing of hybrid needlepunched nonwoven
more detrimental than the corresponding damage
geotextiles
caused by cuts of the fibers in the horizontal, vertical,
or inclined positions. However, it may not be the case Six sets of hybrid needlepunched nonwovens were tested
that the damages are always formed at the center of for various physical and tensile properties. A compari-
nonwoven specimen. son between the physical properties of hybrid needle-
Needlepunched nonwoven materials are commonly punched nonwoven materials is shown in Table 2.
produced from synthetic fibers, but in certain applica- Furthermore, the notched samples of nonwovens were
tions it has become imperative to use natural fibers as a fabricated by inducing two types of mechanical damage
substitute. The natural fibers are environmentally (circular hole and vertical cut) in three spatial positions
friendly, less expensive, easily available, and ecologic- of nonwoven, i.e. left and top sides with respect to the
ally compatible, but they have an inherent variation in center of the specimen and at the center, as shown
properties (for example, length, diameter, fineness, etc.) in Figure 1. The diameter and length of the circular
leading to non-uniform nonwoven materials.10 hole and the vertical cut were 25.4 mm each.
Recently, we have proposed and demonstrated the Nonwoven strips of 100  200 mm2 were tested in the
potential of cellulosic regenerated fiber, such as viscose machine, cross-machine, and 45 directions using the
rayon, having uniform inherent properties in combin- width tensile test based on ASTM D4595 (2011) and
ation with synthetic fibers to fabricate hybrid needle- five specimens were replicated for each test. The virgin
punched nonwoven materials.11 Therefore, the main
objective of this research work is to study the tensile
behavior of virgin and mechanically damaged hybrid
Table 1. Constituent fiber properties used in the production of
needlepunched nonwoven materials consisting of poly- nonwoven materials
propylene and viscose fibers in defined proportions.
Specifically, two types of damage (hole and vertical Linear Length Diameter
cut) were artificially induced in three spatial positions Type of fiber density (den) (mm) (mm)
of nonwoven, i.e. left and top sides with respect to the Polypropylene 6.0 51 24.2
center of the specimen and at the center of it.
Viscose 4.0 76 15.3

Experimental methods
Hybrid needlepunched nonwoven materials were fabri-
cated from viscose and polypropylene fibers in defined Table 2. Physical Properties of hybrid needlepunched
weight proportions. The tensile behavior of virgin and nonwoven materials
notched nonwoven materials were tested and analyzed. Fiber type(s)
and percentage Fabric mass
content in geotextiles per unit area (g/m2)
Sample preparation Thickness*
PP (%) CV (%) Nominal Actual (mm)a
Polypropylene/viscose (PP/CV) combinations were used
in varying weight proportions (0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 – 400 393.07  6.20 3.91  0.06
100%) to produce six sets of hybrid needlepunched non- 80 20 400 379.51  6.50 3.55  0.12
woven materials of 400 g/m2. These nonwovens were 60 40 400 427.95  7.67 3.50  0.06
produced by initially opening and blending the staple 40 60 400 358.40  13.75 3.01  0.05
fibers by means of carding and, subsequently, orientated 20 80 400 437.51  7.71 2.98  0.04
to cross-machine direction using a cross-lapper to form – 100 400 431.0  9.93 2.97  0.08
webs of similar mass per unit area. These webs were then a
Nonwoven thickness was measured under 2 kPa.
passed through the needlepunching process in which two PP: polypropylene; CV: viscose.
Rawal et al. 1105

and notched samples tested in various directions are a nonwoven material in a uniaxial tensile test is not suit-
designated as ‘XD-V’ (virgin nonwoven tested in the able as the lateral contraction is not able to develop fully
cross-machine direction), ‘MD-T’ (nonwoven damaged in the part of the strip that is near to the clamps gripping
at the top side to the center of the specimen tested in the specimen.13 Furthermore, Poisson’s ratio of various
the machine direction), ‘MD-L’(nonwoven damaged at nonwoven materials were obtained at different strain
the left side to the center of the specimen tested in the levels, similar to the method employed by Rawal et al.14
machine direction), 45-C’ (nonwoven damaged at the
center of the specimen and tested in a 45 direction),
etc. Here, the letters or numeral before and after
Results and discussion
hyphen (-) represents the direction in which the nonwo- Needlepunched nonwoven materials primarily consist
ven material is tested and the spatial location of the of in-plane fibers orientated preferentially or randomly
mechanically induced damage or virgin sample, respect- and also consist of loops of fibrous pegs in the through-
ively. It should be noted that testing a narrow strip of thickness direction.1 These fibrous materials derive

Figure 1. Types of induced damages in hybrid needlepunched nonwoven materials: (a) circular hole and (b) vertical cut.
1106 Textile Research Journal 83(11)

their cohesion and strength through frictional forces in the cross-machine direction when compared with the
existing between the entangled fibers by means of trans- machine or 45 directions, as shown in Figures 3 and 4
verse forces under defined tensile loading conditions.2 and Table 3. As expected, the tensile strength of virgin
Therefore, it is of paramount importance to discuss and nonwoven samples is apparently higher than that of the
understand the micromechanisms of deformation of damaged samples. However, the damaged hybrid non-
virgin needlepunched nonwoven materials. woven samples with a viscose content of (60–80 wt%)
Subsequently, the tensile behavior of notched or mech- have minimal tensile strength reduction (less than
anically damaged samples will be discussed. The effect 23%), especially in the cross-machine direction, as illu-
of the type of damage on the tensile properties of strated in Table 3. Nevertheless, the hybrid needle-
hybrid nonwovens will also be investigated. punched nonwovens showed notch-sensitive behavior
as the size of the damage was significantly increased
Tensile behavior of virgin and notched hybrid and the stress concentration in the fibers surrounding
the localized damage tended to increase, leading to the
needlepunched nonwoven materials
nonwoven failure at the maximum level of applied stress
According to Hearle and Purdy,2 the initial stress–strain (see Figure 5). From the microstructural viewpoint, ini-
behavior of a typical needlepunched nonwoven primar- tial stress–strain behavior primarily includes fiber
ily includes fiber reorientation toward the loading direc- reorientation but the localized stress concentration
tion, which does not generate much stress within the around the damage tends to grow, generating tension
nonwoven material. Simultaneously, the fibrous pegs within the surrounding fibers around the damage.
in the through-thickness direction tend to move closer Further increases in load overcome the localized fric-
to each other. Hence, there is a slow rise in load, specif- tional forces existing between these surrounding fibers
ically under lower levels of strain. A further increase in and the damage size tends to grow significantly, limiting
load enhances the tension in the fibers as they are com- the contraction in the widthwise direction. This results in
pressed due to the reduction in width and subsequently a reduction in Poisson’s ratio at higher level of tensile
generate interfiber frictional forces. The fiber rupture strain (see Figure 6). Moreover, the stress transfer is also
occurs when the applied tensile load overcomes the fric- channeled to the other surrounding fibers due to the
tional forces between the fibers. A typical stress–strain presence of frictional fiber-to-fiber contacts, and when
behavior of polypropylene based needlepunched non- these interfiber frictional forces are overcome the rup-
woven material is illustrated in Figure 2. In this study, ture occurs in the nonwoven material.
the hybrid needlepunched nonwovens consist of fibers The spatial position of the induced damage also
preferentially orientated in the cross-machine direction, plays a key role in determining the tensile properties
i.e. the majority of fibers are aligned in the cross- of hybrid needlepunched nonwoven materials.
machine direction. Hence, the tensile strength of needle- Generally, it was observed that damage induced at
punched nonwoven material is correspondingly higher the top side to the center of the specimen results in a

Figure 2. Force/width vs extension curve of a typical polypropylene needlepunched nonwoven describing the effects of strain
on structure.
 Rawal et al.
Figure 3. Force/width vs extension curves of virgin and damaged samples having a circular hole: (a)100/00 polypropylene/viscose (PP/CV), (b) 80/20 PP/CV, (c) 60/40 PP/CV, (d) 40/
60 PP/CV, (e) 20/80 PP/CV, (f) 00/100 PP/CV. See text for description of legend.

1107
 1108
Figure 4. Force/width vs extension curves of virgin and damaged samples having a vertical cut: (a)100/00 polypropylene/viscose (PP/CV), (b) 80/20 PP/CV, (c) 60/40 PP/CV,

Textile Research Journal 83(11)

(d) 40/60 PP/CV, (e) 20/80 PP/CV, (f) 00/100 PP/CV. See text for description of legend.
 Rawal et al.
Table 3. Tensile strengths of virgin and damaged hybrid needlepunched nonwoven materials. See text for description of materials
Maximum tensile force/width (N/mm)a

Sample ID XD-V XD-T XD-L XD-C 45 -V 45-T 45 -L 45-C MD-V MD-T MD-L MD-C

Circular hole 100/00 PP/CV 32.32  1.99 21.40  1.64 21.76  1.45 24.41  0.78 15.81  1.68 12.44  1.33 12.57  0.51 12.52  0.82 11.79  0.74 8.39  0.78 10.01  0.78 9.32  0.35
(0.66) (0.67) (0.76) (0.79) (0.79) (0.79) (0.78) (0.93) (0.86)
80/20 PP/CV 25.26  0.67 19.28  1.24 20.08  0.64 19.87  0.85 12.25  1.03 9.94  0.60 9.84  0.57 9.87  0.36 8.61  0.43 7.56  0.11 8.08  0.25 7.36  0.36
(0.76) (0.79) (0.79) (0.81) (0.80) (0.81) (0.88) (0.94) (0.85)
60/40 PP/CV 17.58  0.84 11.77  0.91 11.62  0.91 11.25  0.70 10.59  1.47 8.95  0.74 9.44  0.32 8.84  0.67 7.08  0.28 5.20  0.42 5.84  0.46 5.69  0.39
(0.67) (0.66) (0.64) (0.85) (0.89) (0.83) (0.73) (0.82) (0.80)
40/60 PP/CV 9.77  0.36 7.61  0.15 9.33  0.15 9.53  0.12 5.40  0.24 3.72  0.30 4.21  0.27 4.69  0.42 3.55  0.15 2.65  0.06 3.02  0.15 2.91  0.27
(0.78) (0.95) (0.98) (0.69) (0.78) (0.87) (0.75) (0.85) (0.82)
20/80 PP/CV 9.89  0.39 8.97  0.12 8.93  0.33 9.08  0.21 4.75  0.21 4.08  0.42 4.32  0.27 4.50  0.27 3.01  0.09 2.33  0.09 2.60  0.30 2.42  0.15
(0.91) (0.90) (0.92) (0.86) (0.91) (0.95) (0.77) (0.86) (0.80)
00/100 PP/CV 11.70  0.39 7.41  0.24 8.60  0.21 8.61  0.42 4.62  0.24 4.00  0.06 4.22  0.09 4.43  0.15 2.75  0.21 1.80  0.48 1.88  0.27 1.71  0.27
(0.63) (0.74) (0.74) (0.86) (0.91) (0.96) (0.66) (0.68) (0.62)
Vertical cut 100/00 PP/CV 32.32  1.99 27.49  0.78 30.13  0.43 32.17  0.12 15.81  1.68 12.94  0.74 14.93  0.23 14.71  0.43 11.79  0.74 10.66  0.74 10.78  0.74 11.41  0.35
(0.85) (0.93) (0.99) (0.82) (0.94) (0.93) (0.90) (0.91) (0.97)
80/20 PP/CV 25.26  0.67 20.55  0.11 21.05  0.28 21.96  0.39 12.25  1.03 10.19  0.25 9.97  0.43 10.09  0.11 8.61  0.43 7.72  0.43 8.18  0.36 8.38  0.43
(0.81) (0.83) (0.87) (0.83) (0.81) (0.82) (0.90) (0.95) (0.97)
60/40 PP/CV 17.58  0.84 15.08  0.14 15.86  0.11 15.91  0.11 10.59  1.47 8.87  0.42 9.18  0.25 8.89  0.14 7.08  0.28 6.76  0.35 6.86  0.60 6.95  0.56
(0.86) (0.90) (0.91) (0.84) (0.87) (0.84) (0.96) (0.97) (0.98)
40/60 PP/CV 9.77  0.36 8.93  0.18 8.98  0.24 9.04  0.12 5.40  0.24 4.58  0.24 4.76  0.42 5.00  0.09 3.55  0.15 3.02  0.12 3.31  0.78 3.48  0.75
(0.91) (0.92) (0.93) (0.85) (0.88) (0.93) (0.85) (0.93) (0.98)
20/80 PP/CV 9.89  0.39 8.83  0.21 8.61  0.42 9.47  0.66 4.75  0.21 4.00  0.75 4.12  0.15 4.12  0.12 3.01  0.09 2.70  1.25 2.63  0.12 2.86  0.21
(0.89) (0.87) (0.96) (0.84) (0.86) (0.86) (0.90) (0.87) (0.95)
00/100 PP/CV 11.70  0.39 8.30  1.66 8.79  0.12 9.79  0.36 4.62  0.24 3.46  0.15 3.55  0.33 3.63  0.42 2.75  0.21 2.16  0.39 2.33  0.71 2.16  0.68
(0.71) (0.75) (0.84) (0.75) (0.77) (0.79) (0.78) (0.85) (0.79)
a
Figures in parentheses illustrate the ratio of tensile strength of damaged nonwoven to the tensile strength of corresponding virgin nonwoven sample.
PP: polypropylene; CV: viscose.

1109
1110 Textile Research Journal 83(11)

maximum reduction in tensile strength (see Table 3). when the damage is induced at the top side to the center
These results can be rationalized on the basis of of the specimen, a spatial position near to the region of
Saint-Venant’s principle which states that ‘‘the strains the clamps.
that are produced in a body by the application to a
small part of its surface of a system of forces statically Effect of type of damage on the tensile properties
equivalent to zero force and zero couple, are of negli-
gible magnitude at distances which are large compared
of hybrid needlepunched nonwoven materials
with the linear dimension of the part’’.15 This implies Interestingly, the shapes of artificially induced dam-
that in the case of uniaxial tension, the magnitude of ages, i.e. circular hole and vertical cut in nonwovens,
applied stresses developed from the clamped region is were found to be altered and distinct specifically at
relatively high near to it. In anisotropic materials such higher levels of strains, as illustrated in Figure 5. For
as nonwovens, the jaw effects tend to persist over much instance, the circular hole converted to an elliptical
longer dimensions in comparison to those in the iso- shape whereas the vertical cut transformed into a len-
tropic materials.16 It is anticipated that the stress con- ticular shape (two bounded circular arcs having same
centration of the surrounding fibers in the mechanical radius of curvatures) under higher levels of strains.
damage induced at the top side to the center of the Similarly, the ratio of damaged area at maximum
specimen is relatively high in comparison to the breaking or failure strain (Amax) to the damaged area
damage created in the center or to its left side. measured in the beginning of the test (Ao) revealed that
Therefore, the loss in tensile strength is relatively high the circular hole damage caused a considerable change

Figure 5. Damage evolution in 60/40 polypropylene/viscose: (a) virgin, (b) circular hole, (c) vertical cut.
Rawal et al. 1111

in its size in comparison to the hybrid nonwovens con- nonwoven consisting of a circular hole (see Figure 7),
sisting of vertical cut damage, as shown in Figure 7. limiting the movement of fiber toward the loading dir-
Moreover, it was observed that the Poisson’s ratio ection and, hence, reducing the contraction in width.
(xy ) values are maximum in case of hybrid needle- It was also found that the hybrid needlepunched non-
punched nonwoven materials consisting of a vertical wovens consisting of circular holes were of significantly
cut, as shown in Figure 6. Under low levels of strains lower tensile strengths than their corresponding
(<10%), significant fiber reorientation toward the load- nonwovens having vertical cuts specifically in the
ing direction occurs, leading to an increase in Poisson’s cross-machine direction (see Table 3). These results
ratio. However, the contraction of width in the case of clearly demonstrate that circular holes are more detri-
hybrid needlepunched nonwovens consisting of a circu- mental than vertical cuts when induced in needle-
lar cut was much lower than that of the corresponding punched nonwoven materials. These observations
sample having a vertical cut. This is due to the fact that matched well with the results obtained by Mendes et al.9
the growth of damage size is significantly higher in a
Conclusions
In this research work, six samples of hybrid needle-
0.7 punched nonwoven materials consisting of polypropyl-
0.6 Virgin ene and viscose fibers in defined proportions were
fabricated and analyzed for their tensile behavior in
Poisson's Ratio

0.5 Vertical Cut

Circular Hole the virgin and notched states. Specifically, the notched
0.4 samples of nonwovens were fabricated by artificially
0.3 inducing two types of mechanical damage (circular
0.2 hole and vertical cut) in three spatial positions of non-
woven, i.e. left and top sides to the centre of specimen
0.1
and at the centre tested in the machine, cross-machine
0 and 45 directions using the wide width tensile test. In
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 general, it was found that the hybrid needlepunched
Strain nonwovens have demonstrated notch-sensitive beha-
viour as the size of the damage is significantly increased
Figure 6. Relationship between Poisson’s ratio and strain levels with the increase in the level of applied stresses and
in virgin and center-damaged 60/40 polypropylene/viscose hybrid subsequently, the failure of nonwovens takes place
needlepunched nonwovens in the cross-machine direction. due to gradual increment in the stress concentration

12
Circular cut
10
Vertical cut
8
Amax /Ao

0
100/00 80/20 60/40 40/60 20/80 00/100
PP/CV PP/CV PP/CV PP/CV PP/CV PP/CV

Figure 7. Ratio of centrally damaged area measured at maximum or breaking strain (Amax) to the initial damaged area determined at
0% strain (Ao) for hybrid needlepunched nonwovens in the cross-machine direction. In the case of vertical cut, the initial damaged area
was determined at 20% strain as the lenticular shape started to develop at this level of strain.
PP: polypropylene; CV: viscose.
1112 Textile Research Journal 83(11)

in the fibers surrounding the localised damage. An 4. Purdy AT. Needle-punching. Monograph Series.
increase in the viscose content (60–80 wt%) in damaged Manchester: The Textile Institute, 1980.
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