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The purpose of this paper is to establish three modeling methods (physical model, statistical model, and artificial neural network (ANN) model) and use it to predict the fiber diameter of spunbonding nonwovens from the process parameters.

The results show the physical model is based on the inherent physical principles, it can yield reasonably good prediction results and provide insight into the relationship between process parameters and fiber diameter.

By analyzing the results of the physical model, the effects of process parameters on fiber diameter can be predicted. The ANN model has good approximation capability and fast convergence rate, it can provide quantitative predictions of fiber diameter and yield more accurate and stable predictions than the statistical model.

The effects of process parameters on fiber diameter are also determined by the ANN model. Excellent agreement is obtained between these two modeling methods.

The air drawing model plays an important in spunbonding. The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of the density and the specific heat capacity of polymer melt at constant pressure changing with polymer temperature on the fiber diameter.

The air drawing model of the polypropylene polymer in a spunbonding process is presented and solved by introducing the numerical computation results of the air flow field of aerodynamic device.

The model prediction of the filament fiber diameter coincides well with the experimental data. The effects of the processing parameters on the filament fiber diameter are discussed. A lower polymer throughput rate, higher polymer melt temperature, higher primary air temperature, higher venturi gap, higher air suction speed, and higher quench pressure can all produce finer filament fiber.

The experimental results show that the agreement between the results and experimental data are very better, which verifies the reliability of these models. The results show great prospects for this research in the field of computer assisted design of spunbonding technology.

Surgical gowns should be designed and produced using special techniques to provide barrier properties against potential risks during surgery and healthcare procedures. Ultrasonic welding is one of these methods used to produce surgical gowns with determined barrier properties. The purpose of this paper is to analyse bond strength and permeability properties of ultrasonically welded nonwoven fabrics and compare them with traditional sewing techniques.

In this study, ultrasonic welding of nonwovens was performed to demonstrate its use as an assembly method. Performance requirements in the design of surgical gowns were determined. Fabric strengths and bond strengths of ultrasonic-welded and traditionally sewn fabrics were analysed. The performance properties, i.e., bond strength, air and water resistance of the fabrics and the joints obtained by ultrasonic and classical sewing methods were studied.

As a result, it was found that ultrasonic welding technique is a suitable method for joining layers in surgical gown production bringing the advantages of high water resistance together with acceptable bond strength.

The current study focuses on the use of ultrasonic welding of nonwovens used for disposable protective surgical gowns. Ultrasound welding technique was presented as an alternative to classic assembly methods and ultrasonic welding technology was applied to different fabric combinations simulating different layers in different joining sections of a surgical gown.

The polymer air-drawing model of spunbonding nonwovens has been established. The influence of the density and the specific heat capacity of polymer melt at constant pressure changing with polymer temperature on the fiber diameter have also been studied. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

TDMA method is used to solve the difference equations.

It can be concluded that a lower polymer throughput rate, a higher polymer melt initial temperature, a higher air initial temperature, and a higher air initial velocity can all produce finer fibers.

The results also reveal the great potential for this research in the computer-assisted design of spunbonding technology.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors effecting ultrasonic seam tensile properties.

In this study, 100 percent polypropylene and 100 percent polyester spunbond and meltblown nonwoven fabrics were sewn by using ultrasonic sewing machine with different rollers which have two, three and four rows. Seam tensile properties of the sewn nonwoven fabrics were investigated. Four-Level Nested Anova Design was applied to the data by using Minitab 15 software program.

Higher seam strength values were obtained by using four rows roller, PP fiber, spunbond fabric and 50 g/m2 fabric area density for all nonwoven fabrics. Statistical significance was found between fabric area density, roller rows and seam tensile strength properties and between fabric type, roller rows and seam elongation at break values.

When the authors look at the studies related to ultrasonic sewing, several researchers studied on welding parameters of ultrasonic sewing but very limited studies were performed on assembling of nonwoven fabrics with ultrasonic sewing. Therefore effect of production methods of nonwoven fabrics on the properties of ultrasonic sewing such as seam strength and elongation at break should be investigated.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a unique disposable bed sheet design which reduces infection risk and other related problems from patient to patient and others during staying period at hospitals.

The unique disposable bed sheet consists of three layers which are laminated to each other by hot‐melt technique. Upper and lower layers are different weights of 100 per cent polypropylene produced by spunbond technology. Plasma technology has been used to make the surface of the spunbond polypropylene sheets hydrophilic. Additionally, thermal bond 100 per cent polypropylene sheets, which have hydrophilic surfaces already due to chemical finish have been also used as upper layer. As core layer, different weights of 100 per cent viscose sheets, which have high liquid‐absorption capacity have been used. All three layers have been laminated by hot‐melt technique using etylene vinyl acetate interlayers between them. Antimicrobial effect has been achieved by the impregnation of silver and antibiotic‐based chemicals onto the hydrophilic surface of upper layers. Quality control and performance tests of all these works have been performed according to ISO and BS norms.

It is possible to have very good liquid suction capacity together with superb comfort properties, thanks to its viscose intermediate sheet and excellent wetback values. Moreover, it is initially cheap, hygienic and has enough strength against breaking and tearing.

Cheaper antimicrobial agents and different application amounts should be checked. Also, durability of the hydrophilicity given by plasma treatment has to be checked. Additionally, dermatological tests should be applied.

It is expected that the infection risk at hospitals will be reduced. Moreover, hospitals will be able to use hygienic bed sheets, which would be preferable to the hospital management. Additionally, this unique design can be used for patients at home or for injured animals in veterinary clinics.

Additional staying period due to hospital infections and infections from patient to patient/hospital personnel/visitors/other people will be reduced. Moreover, it is expected that life quality will be raised and dead ratio will be decreased. Beside this, manpower loss and increasing costs due to hospital infections will be prevented.

Design is new and unique. It has practical and social implications.

Cotton-comfortable multi-ply face mask fabrics have been developed at The University of Tennessee's Textiles and Nonwovens Development Center (TANDEC) which have a repellent finished outer spunbond (SB) polypropylene (PP) layer, a middle layer of electrostatically charged (EC) melt blown (MB) PP, and a face side of a cotton-rich nonwoven. The EC MB PP layer effectively filters out aerosols and particulate containing bacteria and viruses, thereby protecting both the wearer and other personnel in the environment. In addition, a cotton-rich nonwoven layer on the body side provides the aesthetics and comfort of cotton, and also better retains antibacterial finish for neutralizing any microbes that penetrate the EC filter media. Filtration efficiency (FE) against 0.1 μm NaCl particles and the pressure drop were determined at TANDEC. FE to water aerosol containing Staphyloccus aureus bacteria per the In Vitro Bacterial Filtration Efficiency (BFE) test and to virus (φX174) per the In Vitro Viral Filtration Efficiency (VFE) were determined at Nelson Laboratories. The percent reduction of bacteria after the BFE test was also ascertained by Nelson Laboratories by a method adapted from AATCC 100.

The purpose of this paper is to determine which criteria should be taken into account while choosing face masks for pandemic times and to what extent their effects are.

Nine face mask alternatives were evaluated based on the assessments of their performance with respect to twelve attributes. Seven experts were asked to evaluate the mask alternatives and the influences among attributes. In gathering expert judgments, spherical fuzzy number-based linguistic terms were utilized in the study to provide a more comprehensive representation domain to them.

According to the results, the most important attributes are found as material type, cost and bacteria–virus protection level. The best face mask is N95, which is followed by respirators and surgical masks.

The implication of the research is to evaluate face masks in terms of criteria such as physical, performance, protection and cost to decide on what basis they were selected as a personal protective equipment (PPE) based on expert assessments. This is useful in selection of the right face mask with optimum performance and provides guidance to the general public and profession specific groups for this purpose. The face mask companies might be also benefitted from the implications of the present study in their design and research and development (R&D) operations.

The preference ranking of the face mask alternatives has not been studied in detail yet in the literature. Focusing on this issue, the present study provides a comprehensive assessment of the selection criteria of face masks in the pandemic era.

Given the COVID-19 Pandemic outbreak and the role of medical textiles for protection, this study aims to identify the leading research foci on using textile materials for personal protection in pandemic situations.

A systematic review and systemic analysis of the literature on the subject were performed using the process knowledge development – constructivist (ProKnow-C) methodology.

A bibliographic portfolio with 16 relevant studies was obtained. This portfolio represents the main focus of this research field, including the main filtration mechanisms, ways of disinfecting N95 respirators and proposed methods to evaluate the filtration efficiency of different materials with potential for mask development.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time the ProKnow-C methodology was used in the textile field. Thus, future studies can benefit from using the Proknow-C for selecting and analyzing relevant textile studies following a systematic approach.

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