Tensile strength properties of woven and nonwoven surgical gown fabrics

Abstract

Surgical gowns are the most important item among the surgical garments. The main function of surgical gowns is to protect the medical personnel against a risk of an infection by micro-organisms. There are two types of surgical gowns on the market today, disposable (nonwoven) and reusable (woven). The aim of this research was to investigate the tensile strength properties of woven and nonwoven fabrics which are used for surgical gown manufacturing. The wet and dry tensile strength of nonwoven fabrics were assessed in the cross and machine directions, while the dry tensile strength of woven fabrics were tested in the weft and warp directions. It was observed that the woven fabrics presented higher tensile properties when compared to the nonwoven fabrics for dry tensile strength values. The woven fabrics which include carbon fibers presented the highest tensile strength value. Spunlace was the superior nonwoven fabric for both machine and cross directions.