Abstract
A theoretical prediction of bending rigidity of nonwoven fabrics with different bonding characteristics is presented. To study the bending behavior of nonwoven fabrics, we have modified Freeston & Platt's model assuming both no freedom and complete freedom behavior. By reconfiguring the fiber number in a unit cell ($N_{f}$), unit cell shape, and the contribution factor (K), a new equation for bending rigidity is derived. The closer the bonding point is, the more the fibers between adjacent bonding points are likely to behave with no freedom. This fact is relevant to the contribution factor which is the relative contribution portion to bending rigidity and can be determine from the reconfigured bond area and unit cell. The experimental bending rigidity is more dependent on theoretical bending rigidity of the no freedom region than that of the complete freedom region. In general, the theoretical and experimental values of bending rigidity of the nonwoven fabrics show considerably good agreement.