3D Through-Air Drying Fabric for Bulk and Smooth Rolled Tissue
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Solution Overview
Problem
Tissue manufacturers face challenges in producing rolled tissue products with high bulk, firmness, and surface smoothness while maintaining acceptable cost and quality, as increasing one property often compromises others, such as bulk and smoothness.
Innovation Solution
A through-air drying fabric with a three-dimensional design element is used to create tissue webs that offer high bulk, improved firmness, and surface smoothness, achieved by structuring the fabric with elevations and landing areas that enhance caliper and tensile strength without compromising smoothness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the basis weight of tissue sheets is increased to provide high-quality tissue product, then tissue strength and softness are improved, but roll bulk decreases because much of the bulk is achieved by molding into the paper-making fabric
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from traditional two-dimensional flat tissue sheets to three-dimensional tissue structures with peaks and valleys. The fabric design incorporates raised elements that create vertical dimension in the tissue web, allowing high bulk without increasing basis weight. This dimensional change enables the tissue to maintain strength while achieving superior roll bulk through the three-dimensional architecture rather than relying solely on increased material weight.
2Volume of moving object
If tissue sheets are molded into the paper-making fabric to achieve bulk, then roll bulk is improved, but surface smoothness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The fabric design incorporates specific local features including raised elements and landing areas that create three-dimensional tissue structures in certain zones while maintaining smooth surfaces in other zones. The landing areas provide smooth contact surfaces, while the raised elements create bulk-giving three-dimensional structures. This local differentiation allows the tissue to simultaneously achieve both high roll bulk and acceptable surface smoothness by assigning different functional qualities to different regions of the fabric.
3Volume of moving object
If tissue rolls are wound loosely to increase roll bulk, then roll bulk is improved, but firmness decreases making rolls easily deformed
Solution Approach 1:
The invention performs preliminary structuring of the tissue web during the forming process itself, creating three-dimensional peaks and valleys before winding. By pre-establishing the three-dimensional architecture in the tissue web, the roll achieves high bulk inherently from the tissue structure rather than from loose winding. This preliminary action allows the roll to be wound more tightly while maintaining high bulk, thereby improving firmness without sacrificing roll bulk.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present disclosure provides high bulk tissue products, as well as an apparatus and methods for manufacturing the same. The tissue products provided herein not only have high bulk, but they also have improved surface smoothness, particularly compared to tissue products of similar basis weights.