Water-absorbent resin particles 10a, in which a rate of an amount of change in a water retention amount of physiological saline when irradiation with an ultraviolet ray is performed for 3 hours with respect to a water retention amount of physiological saline before irradiation with an ultraviolet ray is more than 0% and 30% or less.

Water-absorbent resin particles 10a, in which a gel flow rate measured by the following procedures having (1) to (3) is 10 to 70 g/min: (1) mixing 1 part by mass of the water-absorbent resin particles and 199 parts by mass of water to obtain a gel, (2) accommodating the gel in a funnel in a state where a circular lower end opening with a diameter of 8 mm in the funnel is closed, and (3) measuring an outflow amount of the gel per unit time after a lapse of 3 minutes from opening of the lower end opening as the gel flow rate.

An absorber 10 containing water-absorbent resin particles 10a, in which a rate of an amount of change in a water retention amount of physiological saline of the water-absorbent resin particles 10a when the water-absorbent resin particles 10a are irradiated with an ultraviolet ray for 3 hours with respect to a water retention amount of the water-absorbent resin particles 10a of physiological saline before irradiation with an ultraviolet ray is more than 0% and 30% or less.

Disclosed are water-absorbent resin particles having a gel outflow test force measured by the following method of 5 to 14 N. The measuring method for gel outflow test force includes: producing a swollen gel by allowing the water-absorbent resin particles to absorb 29 times as amount of physiological saline as the water-absorbent resin particles under stirring; evenly putting 20 g of the swollen gel in a cylinder with an inner diameter of 5 cm and having a hole with a diameter of 5 mm at a bottom part, compressing the swollen gel in the cylinder at a rate of 10 mm/min with a jig with a diameter of 4.9 cm, thereby recording a test force at a time point when a part of the swollen gel flows out from the hole at the bottom part of the cylinder, as the gel outflow test force.

Water-absorbent resin particles 10a having a gel surface elasticity measured by the following (1) to (5) is 0.35 to 2.00 N: (1) preparing a gel of the water-absorbent resin particles, (2) bringing a jig into contact with the gel, (3) performing an operation of pressing the jig into the gel and thereafter pulling the jig back to obtain a maximum value and a minimum value of loads applied to the jig during the operation, (4) repeating twice an operation of pressing the jig into the gel and thereafter pulling the jig back to obtain a maximum value and a minimum value of loads applied to the jig during each of operations, and (5) obtaining an average value of maximum values obtained in (3) and (4) and an average value of minimum values obtained in (3) and (4) to obtain a difference between these values as the gel surface elasticity.

Disclosed is an absorbent article 100 including an absorber 10 containing water-absorbent resin particles 10a, in which the water-absorbent resin particles 10a have a maximum gel resistance measured by procedures (1) to (3) of 0.3 to 1.5 N, and a water absorption amount for physiological saline under a load of 4.14 kPa of 12 mL/g or more.

An absorbent structure is disclosed, which may be or form part of an absorbent core of an absorbent article. The structure has a caliper, a fluid-receiving side and a non-receiving side. The non-receiving side occupies a first x-y plane; the receiving side occupies a second x-y plane. The structure has a first zone constituting a first portion of the caliper proximate the non-receiving side, and a second zone constituting a second portion of the caliper proximate the receiving side. Each of the zones includes a co-formed blend of constituents. The blend may include AGM particles, spun filaments and/or cellulose fibers. In examples including AGM particles, particles in the first zone may have an average particle size smaller than that of particles in the second zone. In examples including filaments, filaments in the first zone may have an average filament size smaller than that of the filaments in the second zone.

Water-absorbent resin particles in which a gel outflow proportion is 0% to 20% are disclosed. The gel outflow proportion is measured by a method including: measuring a mass W (g) of 20 g of a swollen gel flowed out from a through hole of a disc while the swollen gel is compressed by a weight of 2000 g for 30 seconds, where the swollen gel is formed by allowing the water-absorbent resin particles to absorb physiological saline; and calculating the gel outflow proportion (%) by the following formula.

Gel outflow proportion (%)=(W/20)×100

The present invention relates to an absorbent structure, preferably for use in absorbent products, such as used in the food, consumer, household, building and construction, beauty and medical industry, and as used in the personal hygiene industry. The substantially cellulose free absorbent structures continuously immobilise absorbent polymer material via initial smaller pockets and subsequently larger compartments allowing excellent fluid management of the absorbent polymer material in dry, partially and fully liquid loaded state. Preferably such absorbent structure volume increases are result of temporary secondary attachment patterns made in combination with substantially permanent primary attachment grids allowing the release of bigger volumes from the initial smaller volumes by detachment of the secondary attachments. Furthermore the absorbent structure according to an embodiment of the invention non-homogeneously swells to form a liquid-managing surface structure as a result of exposing the absorbent structure to liquid. The present invention foresees in the need for improved flexible, thin, lightweight absorbent structures which overcome the absorbency problems of the prior art during absorption, distribution and retention of liquids with optimal fit.

Disclosed is water-absorbent resin particles including: a crosslinked polymer having a monomer unit derived from an ethylenically unsaturated monomer including at least one compound selected from the group consisting of (meth)acrylic acid and a salt thereof, in which a proportion of (meth)acrylic acid and a salt thereof is 70 to 100 mol % with respect to a total amount of monomer units in the crosslinked polymer, an artificial urine permeation speed when the water-absorbent resin particles are swollen tenfold is 1.0 g/min or more and 35.0 g/min or less, a water retention capacity for a physiological saline solution is 32 to 60 g/g, and a contact angle measured in a test performed in the order of i) and ii) is 70 degrees or smaller.