CORRELATION BETWEEN WETTABILITY AND WATER ABSORBENCY OF SOILED FABRICS

The correlation between wetting properties and water absorbency was in vestigated for cellulosic and polyester fabrics soiled with various oi ly substances. As a measure of the wettability of oil, the work of adh esion between oil and water was estimated from surface and interfacial tension data. Water contact angles against the oily soiled cellophane and polyester films were measured to examine the wettability of the s oiled surface. These wetting data were plotted against the water absor bency of the rayon and polyester fabrics soiled with oil. The results show good correlation between the wettability of oil or of the oily so iled surface and the liquid water uptake of the fabrics. However, the differences between the geometric structures of the fabrics and plain surfaces must be considered in further discussions.