Enhancement of hydrostatic resistance and mechanical performance of waterproof breathable laminated fabrics

Abstract

Waterproof breathable laminated fabrics have the special property that permits water vapour to pass through but protects by preventing the entrance of liquid water. Different characteristic properties of the layered constructions of these fabrics have good influence on their hydrostatic resistance and mechanical performance. This research study presents an experiment to enhance the hydrostatic resistance and tensile strength of four different types of hydrophobic membrane laminated waterproof fabrics by considering their breathability as well. For this purpose, water repellent coating based on C 6 -fluorocarbon resin along with polysiloxane hydrophobic softening agent was applied on these four different types of laminated fabrics using pad-dry-cure method. The coated fabrics were characterised by performing different experiments to evaluate the effect of coating on their hydrostatic resistance and mechanical property as well as on water vapour permeability and air permeability. From the test results and analysis of variance (ANOVA), it was found that hydrostatic resistance and tensile strength of the laminated fabrics were enhanced after coating along with proper water repellent property, whereas there were no significant changes in their water vapour permeability and air permeability.