Contents Contributor contact details ix Woodhead Publishing Series in Textiles xi 1 Introduction to composite nonwovens 1 D.DAs,Indian Institute of Technology Delhi,India 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Classification of composite nonwovens 5 1.3 Processing,markets and applications 13 1.4 Conclusion and future trends 15 1.5 Sources of further information and advice 16 1.6 References 16 2 Natural and synthetic fibres for composite nonwovens 20 S.MUKHOPADHYAY,Indian Institute of Technology Delhi,India 2.1 Introduction 20 2.2 Natural and biodegradable fibres for nonwovens 20 2.3 Polypropylene and polyester fibres 2 2.4 Polyethylene and nylon fibres 23 2.5 Bicomponent fibres 24 2.6 References 28 3 Structure of composite nonwovens 30 D.DAs,Indian Institute of Technology Delhi,India and B.NECKAR,Technical University of Liberec,Czech Republic 3.1 Introduction 30 3.2 Fibre characteristics in composite nonwovens 30 3.3 Fibre packing in composite nonwovens 41 3.4 Fibre orientation in composite nonwovens 4 3.5 Pore characteristics in composite nonwovens 52 3.6 Conclusion 5v Contributor contact details ix Woodhead Publishing Series in Textiles xi 1 Introduction to composite nonwovens 1 D. DAS, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Classifi cation of composite nonwovens 5 1.3 Processing, markets and applications 13 1.4 Conclusion and future trends 15 1.5 Sources of further information and advice 16 1.6 References 16 2 Natural and synthetic fi bres for composite nonwovens 20 S. MUKHOPADHYAY, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India 2.1 Introduction 20 2.2 Natural and biodegradable fi bres for nonwovens 20 2.3 Polypropylene and polyester fi bres 22 2.4 Polyethylene and nylon fi bres 23 2.5 Bicomponent fi bres 24 2.6 References 28 3 Structure of composite nonwovens 30 D. DAS, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India and B. NECKÁŘ, Technical University of Liberec, Czech Republic 3.1 Introduction 30 3.2 Fibre characteristics in composite nonwovens 30 3.3 Fibre packing in composite nonwovens 41 3.4 Fibre orientation in composite nonwovens 44 3.5 Pore characteristics in composite nonwovens 52 3.6 Conclusion 56 Contents