Modeling and forecasting consumer properties of fabrics with polyurethane coating

This article presents the results of modeling and predicting the consumer properties of fabrics with a porous polyurethane coating for clothing. The study involved cotton twill fabrics with a polyurethane coating applied using a doctor blade. A two-factor experiment, involving varying foam expansion ratio (1.5–2.5), gap size between the support roller and doctor blade (0.3–0.7 mm), temperature (60–100 °C), and drying time (180–300 s), resulted in the development of mathematical models that adequately describe the dependence of air permeability, vapor permeability, rigidity, and abrasion resistance on the coating formation process conditions. It was found that increasing the gap increases air permeability and rigidity, while increasing foam expansion ratio reduces rigidity and abrasion resistance. The recommended parameters for the production of polyurethane-coated fabrics intended for second-layer clothing are a foam expansion ratio of 2.0 and a gap of 0.5 mm. It was found that increasing the drying temperature and duration leads to an increase in material stiffness due to the compaction of the polymer structure, with maximum abrasion resistance achieved at 80–90 °C and 300 s. The highest air permeability (up to 32.8 dm3/(m2·s)) is observed at minimum temperature and drying time, and the maximum vapor permeability (11.2 mg/(sm2·h)) is achieved at moderate temperatures and increased drying duration. Based on the resulting regression equations, an inverse problem was solved: process parameters were determined based on specified individual quality indicators. Experimental testing confirmed the adequacy of the models, with the relative prediction error not exceeding 5 %. The results can be used in the design of polyurethane-coated fabrics with specified hygienic and performance properties.