The influence of surface hydrophilicity on the adhesion properties of wet fabrics or films to water

Abstract

The adherence of wet fabrics to the skin brings much discomfort. The relationship between hydrophilicity and adhesion properties of fabric materials is investigated. A theoretical expression is given to describe the relationship of adhesion force, water contact angle (WCA), and radius of fabric–liquid interface. The adhesion force grows with decreasing WCA and increasing radius of the fabric–liquid interface. With the help of atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) treatment, the hydrophilicity of the fabric materials is improved, accompanied by reduced WCA, roughened fiber surfaces, as observed by scanning electronic microscope (SEM), and increased Oxygen/Carbon (O/C) atomic ratio and polar bonds, analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In accordance with the theoretical conclusion, the APPJ treated fabrics have a much larger maximum adhesion force and longer adhesion duration with water, indicating more discomfort resulting from the increase of hydrophilicity when they are wet. To minimize the discomfort caused by wet adhesion, less hydrophilic fabric surfaces may be preferred.

Study of the Human Stickiness Perception of Wet Fabric on the Volar Forearm via Two Contact Modes: Friction and Adhesion-Separation

“…On one hand, the friction force between the skin and wet fabric with no cover weight was commonly larger than the adhesion force. The adhesion force between the skin and completely soaked samples (120 mm × 120 mm) ranged from 0.06 N to 0.2 N (Lou et al., 2015, 2017, 2018), while the friction force between the skin and wet samples (120 mm × 60 mm) with no cover weight ranged from 0.5 N to 2 N (Tang, Chau, Kan, & Fan, 2018a). This indicates that the friction mode causes a greater skin deformation due to the larger force.…”

“…No significant correlation is found between the top surface wetting time and SP under two adhesion-separation conditions (ASLV: r ¼ À.047, p > .05; ASHV: r ¼ À.074, p > .05). Lou et al (2018) suggested that a longer wetting time with a lower surface energy gave a smaller adhesion force at the fabric-water interface. However, this change was not found, which may have been due to the different amounts of water remaining on the fabric surface in the study.…”

Mineral-Solubilizing Soil Bacteria Permanently Green Rocky Slopes by Enhancing Soil Adhesion to the Surface of Rocky Slopes

“…Additionally, the frictional, geometrical, and other characteristics of the solid surface all affect the adherence of soil to solids. Several studies have shown that solid materials with high surface free energy and good hydrophilicity strongly adhere [15][16][17]. The adherence of soil to solids can also be influenced by environmental factors such as process pressure, temperature, etc.…”