WASHABLE NONWOVEN FABRIC AND MANUFACTURE METHOD

Abstract

A washable nonwoven fabric for washable is provided in some embodiments of the present disclosure, including: a base layer and a washable anti-pilling layer. The base layer has a softness coefficient of from 40 to 140, in which the softness coefficient is tested according to method A in JIS L1096-2010 standard test. The washable anti-pilling layer is adhered to the base layer and comprises a composition including polyurethane. A covalent bond exists between the base layer and the washable anti-pilling layer, and the covalent bond is an amide functional group bond, a urethane functional group bond, a urea functional group bond, or a combination thereof. A weight percentage of isocyanate groups in the composition is not lower than 1.2%. A method of manufacturing a washable nonwoven fabric is also provided in some embodiments of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A washable nonwoven fabric, comprising: a base layer, having a softness coefficient of from 40 to 140, wherein the softness coefficient is tested according to method A of JIS L1096-2010 standard test; and a washable anti-pilling layer, disposed on the base layer and comprising a composition including polyurethane, wherein the washable anti-pilling layer is disposed on at least one surface layer or at least one inner layer of the base layer through a covalent bonding with the base layer; wherein the covalent bond is an amide functional group bond, an urethane functional group bond, an urea functional group bond, or a combination thereof; wherein the base layer has a plurality of hydroxyl groups, a plurality of carboxyl groups, a plurality of amine groups, or a combination thereof, and the polyurethane has a plurality of isocyanate groups, wherein a weight percentage of the plurality of isocyanate groups in the composition is not lower than 1.2% based on 100% by total weight of the composition; wherein the amide functional group bond is formed by reacting the plurality of isocyanate groups of the washable anti-pilling layer with the plurality of hydroxyl groups of the base layer; wherein the urethane functional group bond is formed by reacting the plurality of isocyanate groups of the washable anti-pilling layer and the plurality of carboxyl groups of the base layer; wherein the urea functional group bond is formed by reacting the plurality of isocyanate groups of the washable anti-pilling layer with the plurality of amine groups of the base layer.

2. The washable nonwoven fabric of claim 1, wherein the base layer comprises polyester fiber, polyamide fiber, or a combination thereof.

3. The washable nonwoven fabric of claim 1, wherein fiber cross-section configuration of the base layer has configuration of hollow type, sea-island type, sheath-core type, side-by-side type or orange-petal type.

4. The washable nonwoven fabric of claim 1, wherein fineness of fiber in the base layer is from 0.01 denier to 7 denier.

5. The washable nonwoven fabric of claim 1, wherein volume density of the base layer is from 0.2 g/cm.sup.3 to 0.5 g/cm.sup.3.

6. The washable nonwoven fabric of claim 1, wherein a weight percentage of the washable anti-pilling layer is from 1% to 10% based on 100% by total weight of the washable nonwoven fabric.

7. The washable nonwoven fabric of claim 1, wherein the composition comprises a polyester unit, a polyether unit, or a combination thereof.

8. A method of manufacturing the washable nonwoven fabric of claim 1, comprising: providing a base layer, having a softness coefficient of from 40 to 140, wherein the softness coefficient is tested according to method A of JIS L1096-2010 standard test; providing polyol and a cross-linking agent; mixing the polyol and the cross-linking agent to make a hydroxyl group of the polyol bond to an isocyanate radical of the cross-linking agent to form prepolymer having an urethane unit; and adhering the prepolymer to the base layer to make the prepolymer perform a cross-linking reaction with moisture to form a composition including polyurethane and simultaneously react with functional groups of the base layer to form a covalent bond, thereby obtaining a washable anti-pilling layer adhered to the base layer, wherein the covalent bond is an amide functional group bond, an urethane functional group bond, an urea functional group bond, or a combination thereof, the prepolymer has a plurality of isocyanate groups, and a weight percentage of the plurality of isocyanate groups in the prepolymer is not lower than 1.2% based on 100% by total weight of the prepolymer.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the moisture is water vapor in air.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the base layer is a nonwoven fabric prepared by a hydro-entanglement method or a needle punch method.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the polyol comprises polyester polyol, polyether polyol, trimethylolpropane, trihydroxymethylethane, cyclohexane dimethanol, neopentyl glycol, trimethylpentanediol, pentaerythritol, or a combination thereof.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the polyester polyol is obtained by a condensation reaction of polyhydric alcohol and polycarboxylic acid.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the polyether polyol comprises polyethylene glycol, poly(1,3-propanediol), poly(1,2-propanediol), Polytetramethylene Ether Glycol, poly(hexane-1,6-diol), poly(2-methyl-1,3-propanediol), poly(2-ethyl-1,2-hydroxymethyl)-1,3-propanediol, poly(2-2-methoxyethoxyethanol), copolymer of polyethylene glycol and polypropylene glycol, or a combination thereof.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the polyol comprises the polyester polyol and the polyether polyol, and a mixing weight ratio of the polyester polyol and the polyether polyol is from 0.5:1 to 10:1.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein a weight ratio of the polyol and the cross-linking agent is from 2:1 to 9:1.

16. The method of claim 8, wherein the cross-linking agent comprises isocyanate.

17. The method of claim 8, wherein the amide functional group bond is formed by reacting the plurality of isocyanate groups of the prepolymer and a plurality of hydroxyl groups of the base layer; the urethane functional group bond is formed by reacting the plurality of isocyanate groups of the prepolymer and a plurality of carboxyl groups of the base layer; the urea functional group bond is formed by reacting the plurality of isocyanate groups of the prepolymer and a plurality of amine groups of the base layer.

18. The method of claim 8, wherein the base layer has a plurality of hydroxyl groups, a plurality of carboxyl groups, a plurality of amine groups, or a combination thereof.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] In order to allow the above-mentioned and other purposes, features, advantages and embodiments of the present disclosure to be more clearly understood, accompanying drawing is described as follows:

[0031] FIG. 1 illustrates a flow chart of a method of manufacturing a washable nonwoven fabric.

[0032] FIG. 2 illustrates a comparative figure of anti-pilling effect (referred to as abrasion resistance) of Comparative Example 5 to Comparative Example 11 (C5 to C11), Experimental Example 11 and Experimental Example 12 (E11 and E12) in Table 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] It is to be understood that different implementations or embodiments provided in the following may implement different features of the subject matter of the present disclosure. The embodiments of specific components and arrangements are used to simplify the disclosure and not to limit the disclosure. Of course, these are only examples and are not intended to be limiting. For example, the description below that the first feature is formed on the second feature includes the two being in direct contact, or there are other additional features between the two that are not in direct contact. Furthermore, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/or symbols in the various embodiments. Such repetition is for simplicity and clarity and does not represent a relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.

[0034] The present disclosure provides a washable nonwoven fabric and a method of manufacturing the washable nonwoven fabric, including providing a base layer with better softness (softness coefficient is from 40 to 140) and dimensional stability (5% Young's modulus can be basically maintained above 3 Newtons (N)) and covering the base layer with the washable anti-pilling layer including a polyurethane composition. The polyurethane composition does not require chemical solvents in the synthesis process, making it an environmentally friendly material. Furthermore, in addition to the original structure, it can also perform internal cross-linking reactions through moisture (water in the air) or additionally applied water vapor at the same time to enhance the covalent bond of internal cross-linking based on its structural characteristics. Meanwhile, the polyurethane composition can also form covalent bonds with the base layer through various cross-linking reactions. Through various aspects of cross-linking reactions, the anti-pilling effect (abrasion resistance) and washability are substantially improved.

[0035] Through the disposition of the washable anti-pilling layer, the present disclosure not only completely compensates for the problem of decreased anti-pilling effect due to increased softness, but also further improves the washability effect, so that the washable nonwoven fabric can improve softness and simultaneously improve the anti-pilling and washability effects, thereby expanding the multi-faceted applications of the nonwoven. For example: the applications of durable clothing, medical protective clothing, industrial isolation clothing, home furnishings, furniture fabrics, toys, shoe bags, etc.

[0036] Please refer to FIG. 1, illustrating a flow chart of a method 100 of manufacturing a washable nonwoven fabric, including step S110 to step S140.

[0037] Step S110, a base layer is provided.

[0038] In some embodiments, the base layer includes polyester fiber, polyamide fiber, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the base layer is a nonwoven fabric prepared by a hydro-entanglement method or a needle punch method. In some embodiments, after obtaining the nonwoven base fabric through the hydro-entanglement method, a refining process (such as a fiber-splitting process) is further performed on the nonwoven base fabric to improve fineness of the nonwoven base fabric, and then the nonwoven with improved softness for serving as the base layer is further obtained. However, since softness is improved by increasing fineness of fiber, a problem of reduced anti-pilling effect is usually emerged along with the increase of softness.

[0039] In some embodiments, fiber cross-section configuration of the base layer has configuration of hollow type, sea-island type, sheath-core type, side-by-side type or orange-petal type.

[0040] In some embodiments, fineness (total number of denier) of fiber in the base layer is from 0.01 denier to 7 denier, such as 0.01 denier, 0.1 denier, 0.5 denier, 1 denier, 2 denier, 3 denier, 4 denier, 5 denier, 7 denier, or a combination thereof. If the fineness is too small, the anti-pilling effect is not enough. If the fineness is too large, the softness is not enough. In some embodiments, a volume density of the base layer is from 0.2 g/cm.sup.3 to 0.5 g/cm.sup.3, such as 0.2 g/cm.sup.3, 0.3 g/cm.sup.3, 0.4 g/cm.sup.3, 0.5 g/cm.sup.3, or a combination thereof. If the volume density is too low, it's easy to cause Young's modulus to be insufficient, thereby causing dimensional stability to be insufficient. If the volume density is too high, gas permeability is insufficient.

[0041] In some embodiments, softness coefficient of the base layer is from 40 to 140 (such as 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140, or a combination thereof), which is tested according to method A of JIS L1096-2010 standard test. If the softness coefficient is too high, it's easy to cause anti-pilling effect to decline. If the softness coefficient is too low, it's difficult to apply the base layer in practice.

[0042] Step S120, polyol and a cross-linking agent are provided.

[0043] In some embodiments, the polyol includes polyester polyol, polyether polyol, trimethylolpropane, trihydroxymethylethane, cyclohexane dimethanol, neopentyl glycol, trimethylpentanediol, pentaerythritol, or a combination thereof. That is, whether any one of the aforementioned materials is used alone, or two or more materials are mixed and matched with each other, they are all included in the scope of application of the present disclosure.

[0044] In some embodiments, polyester polyol is obtained by a condensation reaction of polyhydric alcohol and polycarboxylic acid. In some embodiments, polyester polyol is obtained by a condensation reaction of polyol (alcohol as a functional group) with 2 to 12 carbon atoms (preferably with 2 to 6 carbon atoms) and polycarboxylic acid ((carboxylic acid as a functional group) with 2 to 12 carbon atoms. Polycarboxylic acid can be such as butanedioic acid, glutaric acid, hexanedioic acid, heptanedioic acid, octanedioic acid, azelaic acid, sebacic acid, decane dicarboxylic acid, benzenedicarboxylic acid, isophthalic acid, benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid and naphthalenedicarboxylic acid isomer. In some embodiments, when benzenedicarboxylic acid, isophthalic acid, benzene-1,4-dicarboxylic acid or naphthalenedicarboxylic acid isomer is selected as polycarboxylic acid, abrasion resistance of the obtained polyester polyol is better. In some embodiments, polyether polyol includes polyethylene glycol, poly(1,3-propanediol), poly(1,2-propanediol), Polytetramethylene Ether Glycol, poly(hexane-1,6-diol), poly(2-methyl-1,3-propanediol), poly(2-ethyl-1,2-hydroxymethyl)-1,3-propanediol, poly(2-2-methoxyethoxy) ethanol), copolymer of polyethylene glycol and polypropylene glycol, or a combination thereof.

[0045] In some embodiments, polyol includes polyester polyol and polyether polyol, and a mixing weight ratio of polyester polyol and polyether polyol is from 0.5:1 to 10:1, such as 0.5:1, 1:1, 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, 5:1, 6:1, 7:1, 8:1, 9:1, 10:1, or a combination thereof. It could be understood that, compared with the condition that polyester polyol is only included, the selection of polyether polyol in combination with polyester polyol can increase softness of finished product (washable nonwoven fabric). Therefore, the lower the aforementioned weight ratio is, the higher the softness is. By adjusting the scope of the weight ratio, the softness of washable nonwoven fabric can be controlled for use in the applications of the fabric.

[0046] In some embodiments, the cross-linking agent includes isocyanate, for example, esters with cyanate radical on one side or both sides.

[0047] Step S130, the polyol and the cross-linking agent are mixed to make a hydroxyl group of the polyol bond to an isocyanate radical of the cross-linking agent to form prepolymer having an urethane unit.

[0048] In some embodiments, a weight ratio of polyol and the cross-linking agent is from 2:1 to 9:1, such as 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, 5:1, 6:1, 7:1, 8:1, 9:1, or a combination thereof, for ensuring the two materials are fully reacted and avoiding excess of raw materials. In some embodiments, after step S130, the method 100 includes performing a heating step (such as heating at a temperature of from 60 C. to 95 C.) to increase generation efficiency of the prepolymer. In some embodiments, step S130 is performed until a weight percentage of isocyanate groups is lower than 10% to ensure the reaction is performed sufficiently.

[0049] Step S140, the prepolymer is adhered to the base layer to make the prepolymer perform a cross-linking reaction with moisture to form a composition including polyurethane and simultaneously react with functional groups of the base layer to form a covalent bond, thereby obtaining a washable anti-pilling layer adhered to the base layer, in which the covalent bond is an amide functional group bond, an urethane functional group bond, an urea functional group bond or a combination thereof.

[0050] In some embodiments, the prepolymer at step S140 has a plurality of isocyanate groups, and a weight percentage of the isocyanate groups in the prepolymer is not lower than 1.2% based on 100% by total weight of the prepolymer. For example, it can be 1.2% to 10%, such as 1.2%, 1.5%, 2.0%, 2.5%, 3.0%, 3.5%, 4.0%, 4.5%, 5.0%, 5.5%, 6.0%, 6.5%, 7.0%, 7.5%, 8.0%, 8.5%, 9.0%, 9.5%, 10.0%, or a combination thereof, or a value range higher than 1.2%. If the weight percentage of isocyanate groups is too low, the ratio of covalent bonds that are formed by isocyanate groups and functional groups of the base layer is insufficient, and washability is limited.

[0051] In some embodiments, the prepolymer is induced by water vapor in the air or additionally applied water vapor, and undergoes a cross-linking reaction with the internal molecular chains, resulting in a variety of bonding types in the washable anti-pilling layer. For example, in addition to the original urethane units of the prepolymer, the variety of bonding types also contains urea functional group bond, allophanate functional group bond, and biuret functional group bond, or a combination of the abovementioned bonds. Therefore, compared with other types of polymers, when polyurethane composition is used as the washable anti-pilling layer, the internal structure can be protected and the anti-pilling and washability effects can be jointly improved due to the various cross-linking bonding types inside. In some embodiments, the polyurethane composition includes polyester unit, polyether unit, or a combination thereof.

[0052] In some embodiments, after the step of adhering the prepolymer to the base layer, the prepolymer or the polyurethane composition separately forms a covalent bond with the base layer (such as, a covalent bond is formed with a surface layer of the base layer or an inner layer opposite to the surface layer, in which the inner layer refers to the portion that is not exposed to the outside.). That is, a covalent bond is between the base layer and the washable anti-pilling layer, improving the bonding force between the two layers, thereby further improving anti-pilling effect and washable ability of the washable nonwoven fabric. In some embodiments, the covalent bond is an amide functional group bond (such as obtained by reacting isocyanate groups of the washable anti-pilling layer with hydroxyl groups of the base layer), a urethane functional group bond (such as obtained by reacting isocyanate groups of the washable anti-pilling layer with carboxyl groups of the base layer), a urea functional group bond (such as obtained by isocyanate groups of the washable anti-pilling layer and amine groups of the base layer), or a combination thereof.

[0053] In some embodiments, a weight percentage of the washable anti-pilling layer is from 1% to 10% based on 100% by total weight of the washable nonwoven fabric, such as 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 9%, 10%, or a combination thereof. If the weight ratio is too high, softness is too low. If the weight ratio is too low, the improvement of anti-pilling effect is limited.

[0054] In some embodiments, anti-peeling level of the washable nonwoven fabric (finished product that is formed by combining the base layer and the washable anti-pilling layer) is greater than 3.5 (such as 3.5 or 4) for use in fabric. Anti-peeling level is obtained by testing the level about Pilling according to Martindale Abrasion and Pilling Tester of standard test of ISO 12947-4: 1998/Cor 1:2002.

[0055] In some embodiments, adhering the prepolymer to the base layer includes transferring prepolymer resin on the surface layer, or transferring prepolymer resin to the inner structure of the base layer through gravure printing.

[0056] In the following description, multiple examples of the present disclosure will be listed to perform various analysis to verify the efficacy of the present disclosure.

Example 1Manufacture Method

1. Base Layer

Base Layer of Experimental Examples 1-4, 11-12 (from E1 to E4 and from E11 to E12) and Comparative Examples 7-8 (C7, C8)

[0057] Nonwoven base fabric was formed by performing hydro-entanglement on the petal type fiber with fineness of about 1 denier to about 10 denier (total denier number). The petal type fiber here referred to the fiber spun by a mixed spinning method or a compound spinning method, including two different kinds of ingredients, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) of a weight percentage of 80% and polyamide (PA) of a weight percentage of 20%. Viewed from the cross-section of the fiber, the two ingredients were arranged in a staggered manner. Furthermore, the nonwoven base fabric was treated with water pressure/hot water flow to split the two fibers into ultra-fine fiber with fineness of less than 0.2 denier, thereby obtaining the base layer.

Base Layer of Experimental Examples 5-10 (from E5 to E10)

[0058] PET fiber with fineness of about 1 denier to 3 denier (total denier number) and length of 45 mm to 65 mm was treated with needle punching to obtain the base layer.

Base Layer of Comparative Examples 1-6, 9-11 (C1-C4, C5-C6, C9-C11) (without the Refining Process)

[0059] Nonwoven base fabric was formed by performing hydro-entanglement on the petal type fiber with fineness of about 1 denier to about 10 denier (total denier number). The petal type fiber here refers to the fiber spun by a mixed spinning method or a compound spinning method, including two different kinds of ingredients, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) of a weight percentage of 80% and polyamide (PA) of a weight percentage of 20%. Viewed from the cross-section of the fiber, the two ingredients were arranged in a staggered manner.

2. Manufacture of Water Resistant Anti-Pilling Layer Materials

[0060] In the reaction vessel equipped with a thermometer, a stirrer, an inert gas inlet and a reflux cooler, 37.4 parts by weight of polyester glycol (polybutylene succinate) was selected here, and the alcohol value is 37.4 mg of potassium hydroxide/g) and 49.1 parts by weight of polyether glycol (polyoxytrimethylene glycol) was selected here, and the alcohol value is 56.1 mg potassium hydroxide/g) were added. Furthermore, it was dehydrated under reduced pressure conditions until the water content dropped to a weight percentage of less than 0.05%. Furthermore, 18.1 parts by weight of 4, 4-methylenediphenyl diisocyanate was added, and the temperature was raised to 90 C. for about 2 hours until the weight percentage of isocyanate groups reached 2.8%, thereby obtaining prepolymer with a urethane unit and a cyanate group as the terminal group.

[0061] The content measurement method of isocyanate functional groups (NCO) was illustrated as follows: di-n-butylamine was dissolved in isopropanol and reacted with isocyanate functional groups of the resin sample, and then excess di-n-butylamine was titrated with hydrochloric acid standard solution. Furthermore, the content of isocyanate functional groups in the resin sample was calculated.

[0062] Formation reaction of prepolymer was illustrated below (reaction formula 1).

[0063] Theoretically, as long as the polymer with specific terminal group could be used in this reaction formula; therefore, 4,4-Methylene diphenyl diisocyanate in reaction formula 1 was represented by OCNRNCO, polyester diols and polyether glycols were represented by HOROH to present the reaction process more clearly.

##STR00001##

[0064] It should be emphasized that, theoretically, the use of polyester polyol or polyether glycol in reaction formula 1 could make the reaction proceed smoothly, but compared with addition of only polyester polyol, the addition of polyether glycol could improve softness of the base layer.

3. Manufacture of Washable Nonwoven Fabric

[0065] The prepolymer with the urethane unit obtained in the aforementioned point 2 was dotted glued and then gravure printed on the base layer manufactured in the aforementioned point 1, thereby forming the washable anti-pilling layer on the surface layer or the inner layer of the base layer, and the washable nonwoven fabrics (samples of Experimental Example 1 to Experimental Example 12, Comparative Example 1 to Comparative Example 4, Comparative Example 9 and Comparative Example 10) were formed by the washable anti-pilling layer and the base layer together.

[0066] It should be emphasized that, during the manufacture process of the prepolymer, original terminal groups of the cyanate radicals or terminal groups of the amine groups formed by further inducing intramolecular cross-linking reaction with water vapor in the air were used to perform further chained cross-linking reactions with internal molecular chains and allow that, in addition to the urethane unit, the washable anti-pilling layer could also include urea functional group bond, allophanate functional group bond, biuret functional group bond, or the bonding type including the above combination. Please refer to the following reaction formula 2-1 to reaction formula 2-4 for the details.

[0067] It should be understood that the washable anti-pilling layer must form a covalent bond to adhere to the surface layer or inner layer of the base layer through a chemical reaction in order to improve washable and anti-pilling effect. Take the sample of Comparative Example 11 to illustration, the surface layer of Comparative Example 11 was covered with water-based PU, which only generated van der Waals force on the surface of the fiber layer, but anti-pilling effect was significantly reduced after the sample was washed several times.

[0068] First of all, the prepolymer was induced and performed reactions by moisture, two terminal groups were reacted to form amine groups (reaction formula 2-1); the resultant having amine groups then reacted with the prepolymer to generate the resultant having the urea functional group bond (reaction formula 2-2).

##STR00002## ##STR00003##

[0069] At the same time, the prepolymer itself also reacted with the urethane unit on the molecular chain through the terminal group to generate the resultant with the allophanate functional group bond (reaction formula 2-3).

##STR00004##

[0070] Similarly, the prepolymer itself also reacted with the urea functional group unit on the molecular chain through the terminal group to generate the resultant with the biuret functional group bond (reaction formula 2-4).

##STR00005##

[0071] It was also worth mentioning that when the prepolymer was transferred to the base layer by covering (or referred to as coating) or imprinting, the prepolymer could be further cross-linked with the base layer material (such as alcohol or carboxylic acid), making a covalent bond exist between the washable anti-pilling layer and the base layer, thereby increasing the subsequent anti-pilling effect (anti-peeling level). Please refer to the following reaction formula 3-1 (the reaction of the prepolymer and alcohol, in which a structural formula of polyol was used for example here) and reaction formula 3-2 (the reaction of the prepolymer and carboxylic acid, in which, theoretically, as long as the carboxylic acid had a terminal group of the carboxylic group, the following reactions could be carried out despite the fact that the structure of carboxylic acid here showed that the terminal group on one side was the carboxyl group).

##STR00006##

Example 2Performance Test

[0072] For the samples (C1 to C10, and E1 to 12) manufactured according to the aforementioned Example 1, each physical property index value was obtained through various standardized tests to compare the fabric performance of each sample according to each manufacture condition (Table 1 to Table 3), the following illustrated the measurement method of each physical property index value.

[0073] Stiffness: According to JIS L1096-2010 A (45-degree cantilever method), the sample area was prepared into 20 mm150 mm, and then the short side of the sample was placed on a smooth horizontal platform with a scale baseline. Then, the sample was slid along the slope direction, and when one end of the sample touched the slope, the position value of the other end was read proportionally.

[0074] Softness coefficient: According to JIS L1096A-2010 A (45-degree cantilever method), stiffness and thickness of the sample were measured, and then stiffness of the sample was divided by the sample thickness to obtain softness coefficient of the sample. Softness coefficient indicated softness of the material when it bore gravity. The smaller the coefficient was, the softer the material was.

[0075] 5% elongation modulus: The test was performed according to ISO 527. The samples were cut into 30 mm150 mm test pieces, and the tensile test was conducted at a speed of 200 mm/min (clamp spacing was 100 mm). After the test was completed, the tensile force values of the samples at 5% extension ratio were read.

[0076] Young's modulus: Young's modulus of nonwoven was obtained by dividing 5% elongation modulus by thickness of the sample. Young's modulus indicated dimensional stability of the material when it was subjected to tensile force. The smaller coefficient of Young's modulus indicated that the material's structure easily loosen when it was washed with water.

[0077] Abrasion resistance: Abrasion resistance was measured according to Pilling (level) of Martindale Abrasion and Pilling Tester Pilling of ISO 12947-4: 1998/Cor 1:2002.

[0078] The comparative results of the cloth performance of each group of the samples were illustrated in Table 1 to Table 3, respectively, and for the convenience of comparison, abrasion resistance (corresponding to anti-pilling effect) result of each group in Table 3 was organized as FIG. 2.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Base Layer: 80 wt % polyethylene terephthalate (PET)/ 20 wt % Polyamide (PA) E1 E2 E3 E4 C1 C2 C3 C4 Fineness of Fiber (denier) <0.2 <0.2 <0.2 <0.2 >8 >8 >8 >8 Washable Anti-Pilling Layer Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Basis Weight 346 262 222 87 331 247 202 84 (g/m.sup.2) Thickness 1.16 0.84 0.78 0.36 0.78 0.65 0.52 0.30 (mm) Volume Density (g/cm.sup.3) 0.30 0.31 0.29 0.22 0.38 0.37 0.39 0.27 Stiffness Longitudinal 62 51 37 34 122 >150 107 60 (mm) Direction = Machine Direction (MD) Cross 107 86 48 50 >150 >150 >150 114 Direction (CD) Softness MD 54 61 48 94 156 >233 207 200 Coefficient CD 93 102 62 139 >191 >233 >290 380 5% Elongation MD 11.8 10.2 5.8 1.6 36.5 43.7 20.1 7.4 Modulus CD 70.9 4.0 41.5 20.5 114.3 98.7 82.1 37.1 (Newtons) Young's MD 10 12 7 4 47 >67 39 25 Modulus CD 61 64 53 57 >146 >152 >158 124 (Newtons/mm)

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Base Layer: Poly(ethyl terephthalate (PET) E5 E6 E7 E8 E9 E10 Fineness of Fiber 4 (denier) Washable Anti-Pilling Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Layer Basis Weight 396 341 252 246 211 185 (g/m.sup.2) Thickness 1.77 1.27 1.04 1.16 1.71 1.42 (mm) Volume Density(g/cm.sup.3) 0.22 0.27 0.24 0.21 0.12 0.13 Stiffness MD 90 100 69 80 102 72 (mm) CD 111 119 96 83 114 89 Softness MD 51 79 67 69 60 51 Coefficient CD 63 93 93 71 67 63 5% Elongation MD 7.0 11.5 10.5 9.2 2.4 1.3 Modulus CD 18.2 24.0 40.2 16.8 5.4 3.4 (Newtons) Young's MD 4 9 10 8 1 1 Modulus CD 10 19 39 14 3 2 (Newtons/mm)

[0079] The results of Table 1 to Table 2 represented that the samples of C1 to C4, fiber fineness of the nonwoven base layer fiber was greater than 8 denier (8 denier was not included) and having the washable anti-pilling layer be disposed on, had softness coefficient>140, indicating that the cloth was too stiff. Relatively, E1 to E4 with fineness of fiber smaller than 0.2 denier (0.2 denier was not included) and E5 to E10 with fineness of fiber of 4 denier had softness coefficient<140 and Young's modulus >3 Newtons/mm, indicating softness and dimensional stability were much higher.

[0080] In addition, according to E9 and E10, it could be found that when volume density was much low (0.12 g/cm.sup.3 and 0.13 g/cm.sup.3), Young's modulus also decreased, resulting in decrease of dimensional stability.

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Base Layer: 80 wt % polyethylene terephthalate, (PET)/ 20 wt % Polyamide (PA) E11 E12 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 Refining Process Yes Yes No No Yes Yes No No No (Splitting Process after Hydro-entanglement) Washable Anti-pilling Yes Yes No No No No Yes Yes Yes Layer (water based PU was directly coated) Basis Weight of 5 5 0 0 0 0 5 5 5 Washable Anti-pilling Layer (g/m.sup.2) Basis Weight of 341 82 331 84 328 82 336 88 338 Base Layer (g/m.sup.2) Weight Percentage of 1.4 5.7 0 0 0 0 1.4 5.3 1.4 Anti-pilling Layer (Relative to Finished Product (Nonwoven Samples)) Softness MD 54 94 156 200 52 91 160 205 53 Coefficient CD 93 139 >191 380 90 135 >195 382 93 Abrasion 0 3.5 4 3.0 2.5 2.5 2.0 3.5 4 2.5 Resistance wash after Wash with 20 3.5 4 2.5 2.0 2.0 1.5 3.5 4 2.0 Water times (Level) wash [Anti-pilling Effect] Note: 0 wash indicated that the samples were not washed, 20 times wash indicated that the samples were tested after 20 times wash, in which the repeated washing/drying tests were conducted by using a washing machine that complied with AATCC-LP1 specifications and with reference to the AATCC-135 method established by the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists.

[0081] For the sake of clarity, the test results were analyzed segmentally below for Table 3 and FIG. 2.

[0082] According to C5 and C6, it was represented that abrasion resistances of the nonwoven samples obtained by the hydro-entanglement method dropped by 0.5 level loss after washing if the nonwoven samples were not processed by the refining process and the washable anti-pilling layers were not disposed.

[0083] Compared with C5 and C6 (refining process: no; washable anti-pilling layer: no), it was represented that according to C7 and C8 (refining process: yes; washable anti-pilling layer: no), the nonwoven samples obtained from the hydro-entanglement method had insufficient abrasion resistance if softness was increased by the refining process, indicating the refining process damaged anti-pilling effect despite the fact that softness could be increased.

[0084] Compared with C5 and C6 (refining process: no; washable anti-pilling layer: no), it was represented that according to C9 and C10 (refining process: no; washable anti-pilling layer: yes), if the nonwoven samples obtained by the hydro-entanglement method were not processed by the refining process but had the washable anti-pilling layers directly disposed together, they had improved abrasion resistance regardless of whether they were washed or not. The aforementioned results represented that the washable anti-pilling layer increased abrasion resistance (improved anti-pilling effect), and after being washed 20 times, abrasion resistance of them didn't decrease and remained the same as which before they were washed, indicating that water resistance was also improved.

[0085] From the aforementioned comparison of C5/C6 and C7/C8, it was represented that softness of the nonwoven samples obtained by the hydro-entanglement method increased after the refining process, but abrasion resistance decreased (anti-pilling effect declined). Furthermore, compared with C9 and C10 (refining process: no; washable anti-pilling layer: yes), according to E11 and E12 (refining process: yes; washable anti-pilling layer: yes), it was represented that the samples after the refining process and having the washable anti-pilling layers being disposed (E11 and E12) had increased softness and anti-pilling effect. That is, despite the fact that anti-pilling effect decreased after the refining process, if the washable anti-pilling layers were disposed, abrasion resistances of the samples was restored to the same level as which of the samples without the refining process regardless of whether they were washed or not, which completely made up for the loss of anti-pilling effect caused by the refining process.

[0086] Although the refining process could be used to improve softness, anti-pilling effect could be decreased accordingly. However, when the washable anti-pilling layer was disposed at the same time, anti-pilling effect was significantly increased, so that anti-pilling effect was restored to be the same level in one fell swoop as which of the samples that were not treated with the refining process and did not have the washable anti-pilling layers. That is, the washable anti-pilling layer made up for the loss of anti-pilling effect caused by thinner fibers of fineness of fiber.

[0087] Compared with conventional nonwoven, softness and anti-pilling properties provided by the washable nonwoven fabrics in the Experimental Examples of the present disclosure reached higher standards, and the washable nonwoven fabrics were available for use in more textile purposes.

[0088] The preceding overview outlines some characteristics of the embodiments, enabling people skilled in the art to better understand the perspectives disclosed herein. People skilled in the art should recognize that they can easily use this disclosure as a foundation for designing or modifying other processes and structures to achieve the same objectives and/or realize the same advantages as those presented in the embodiments described in context. They should also understand that such equivalent configurations do not deviate from the spirit and scope of this disclosure, and that various changes, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.