Absorbent Capacity Test Method
The absorbent capacity refers to a substance's ability to absorb a liquid. An absorbent-capacity test is used to determine a nonwoven material's ability to absorb a fluid and how fast it does this, which is known as its rate of absorption. The absorbent-capacity test is used by companies that make products such as baby diapers, tissues, paper towels, sponges, and personal and feminine hygiene products. You may have seen an example of an absorption test: Think of a paper towel commercial where one towel is compared with another by a mop-up of water or juice to demonstrate one's superior absorbency to another.
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Things You'll Need
- Nonwoven fabric
- 5-gallon bucket
- Large strainer or mesh basket
- Scratch pad of paper
- Pen
- Stop watch
- Scale
Instructions
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1
Cut five pieces of nonwoven fabric into 1 yard each. Number the pieces "1" through "5" with your pen.
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2
On a scratch pad of paper, write in a descending column the numbers 1 through 5. Going across the top of the paper write "dry weight," "absorption rate time," "wet weight" and "absorption capacity," which is the difference in wet and dry weight.
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3
Weigh the strainer or mesh basket. Roll fabric No. 1 into a cylinder and place it in the strainer or mesh basket. Place the dry fabric, while in the strainer, on the scale and measure it. Subtract the basket's weight from this measurement; then on your piece of paper, write down the weight in the corresponding row.
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4
Fill the 5-gallon bucket with water, then place the strainer or basket with the fabric on the surface of the water. Start the stop watch timer now.
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5
Keep a close eye on the fabric, and when it sinks or becomes fully saturated with the water, stop the timer. On your paper, write the time under the absorption rate time for this piece of fabric.
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6
Take fabric No. 1 and dunk it under the water for 10 seconds. Remove the fabric and strainer and place it in another bucket and let it drain for 10 seconds. Weigh the fabric and write its weight under the wet weight category.
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7
On another piece of paper write the weight of the wet fabric and subtract from it the weight of the dry fabric. This is its absorption capacity. Note this on the first paper under the absorption capacity entry.
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8
Repeat Steps 3 through 7 for the four other pieces of cloth, making sure to write the measurements in the correct rows and columns.
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9
Obtain the average of the absorption capacities by adding together all the absorption capacities and dividing by 5. The average absorbency capacity is used to determine whether a fabric is good at absorbing fluids or not.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Try other types of materials to see which substances are more absorptive than others.
Mop up any water that gets on the floor so people don't slip and fall.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit square towel image by Karin Lau from Fotolia.com
