(Department of Forest Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University)
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To examine the feasibility of dry forming technology for papermaking, a dry forming mold (DFM) was developed and evaluated. Main fanning section of DFM was a cylindrical tube, and at the top of the mold a stirring equipment was placed to disperse dry fibers. These fibers were screened using a hole type screen plate placed just under the stirring equipment and dropped freely on the fanning wire located 0.9 m below of the screen plate to form a dry fiber pad. The vertical and horizontal velocity of air flow in the forming cylinder were evaluated and analyzed to find the most effective method of air flow control in the cylinder. Humidification and pressing conditions to obtain a decent dry fanned papers were examined. Results showed dry fanned papers can be prepared with this dry forming mold. And this mold can be used to examine the effect of the papermaking process factors including pressing pressure, drying temperature, humidification on sheet quality of dry formed papers.