10-Shed Semi-Duplex TAD Fabric for Tissue Bulk
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional through-air dryer (TAD) fabrics used in tissue manufacturing lack the ability to create paper products with varying sizes and shapes of pockets, which limits the enhancement of tactile softness and other physical properties.
Innovation Solution
A woven, single-layer TAD fabric is designed with a 10-shed pattern that interweaves warp and weft yarns to create pockets of two differing sizes on the paper side surface, featuring specific arrangements of yarn knuckles and float lengths to define the pocket perimeters and depths, allowing for enhanced fiber distribution and mechanical properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a conventional single-layer TAD fabric with uniform pocket structure is used, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the tactile softness and mechanical properties are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The fabric incorporates two distinct pocket types (first pockets and second pockets) with different sizes, shapes, and depths within the same fabric structure. This local variation in pocket quality creates diverse surface topography that enhances tactile softness and mechanical properties while maintaining a single-layer construction for manufacturing simplicity.
2Reliability
If pockets of varying sizes are created in the fabric surface, then tactile softness and absorbency are enhanced, but the fabric structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The fabric surface is segmented into multiple pocket types with different dimensions and characteristics. First pockets and second pockets are distributed across the fabric surface, each contributing differently to fiber concentration and sheet formation, thereby enhancing tactile softness and absorbency through structured diversity.
Solution Approach 2:
The fabric employs asymmetric pocket design where first pockets and second pockets differ in size, shape, and depth. This asymmetry creates varied surface topography that influences fiber distribution patterns, improving tactile softness and mechanical properties while adding functional complexity to the fabric structure.
3Manufacturing precision
If a 10-shed weave pattern with multiple yarn knuckles is used, then pocket definition and fiber distribution are improved, but the weaving process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The weave pattern is pre-designed with specific yarn interlacing sequences that automatically create well-defined pockets during the weaving process. The 10-shed pattern with predetermined yarn knuckle positions ensures consistent pocket formation and fiber distribution without requiring additional post-processing or complex loom configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The weave pattern incorporates dynamic yarn movements with multiple knuckles that float over varying numbers of yarns in different directions. This dynamic interlacing creates the complex pocket structure and controls fiber distribution through the weaving process itself, achieving manufacturing precision through the inherent dynamics of the weave pattern.
Data Source
AI summary
A papermaker's through-air dryer (TAD) fabric for use in the production of tissue and towel products. The fabric is woven according to a 10-shed, semi-duplex weave design in which the warp and weft yarns are arranged so as to form pockets of at least two differing sizes in a first planar fabric surface. The pockets are designed and arranged to impart a measure of bulk and absorbency to the paper products conveyed thereon by providing MD oriented recesses in the PS fabric surface into which a portion of the component fibers of the paper products formed on the fabric are deflected during manufacture.