LINTING

Linting refers to the tendency for some types of yarned and stapled fabric fi bres to shed tiny particles into the atmosphere. This fi bre displacement is greatly exacerbated when the fabrics are being moved or manipulated as is the case when working in a protective garment. In this case the lint that is shed can be a major source of contamination in applications ranging from paint spraying to cleanroom to hygiene-sensitive processes. On the other hand, fabrics manufactured from continuous synthetic fi laments, such as Tyvek® have very low linting propensity and are suitable for medical, hygiene, paint and other particle-sensitive applications.

SMS

MICROPOROUS FILM (MPF)

DuPont™ TYVEK®

ANNEXE 3: FABRICS - TYPES AND PROPERTIES

DURABILITY OF SMS, MPF AND TYVEK®FABRICS

The fi gure illustrates fabric durability after 10 cycles of abrasion. At fi rst glance SMS fabric remains unaffected but it has lower performance level. MPF protection barrier is impacted . The fi lm gets abraded very easily and one can see that there are holes in the fi lm. Only Tyvek® remains unaffected and has the highest protection level.

Figure 2. Abrasion: Simulation of wear and tear in everyday use.

AFTER 10 CYCLES OF ABRASION

Annexe 3

Source: DuPont.

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