Development of Nursing Care Sheets of Cellulosic Nonwoven Fabrics for Aging Society

For care of the elderly in a rapidly aging society, a new type of nonwoven fabric care sheet made from cellulosic fibers laminated with a plastic film has been developed. Fiber orientation, friction, tensile strength, local deformation distribution during a tensile test and water absorbency were examined, with a view to practical application. The best fiber mixture ratio in the trial sheets was concluded to be 75% Manila hemp and 25% rayon fibers. In comparison with a linen cloth the addition of rayon fibers at about this ratio gives the most satisfactory properties in terms of soft touch and sensory smoothness to the nonwoven fabric as well as not being slippery. It also gives relatively high water absorbency and moderate elongation under tensile force providing shock-resistance, in spite of a rather low tensile strength, to the nonwoven fabric. Uniquely, a new method to analyze the tensile deformation distribution of nonwoven fabrics using a pattern-matching technique has been developed and demonstrated. Using this method it was found that, during tensile deformation in the machine direction, the addition of rayon fibers allows even elongation in that direction but increases contraction in the cross direction.