Characteristics of Artificial Leather for Footwear

- Mechanical Properties and Penetrating Behavior of Sewing Needle -

Abstract

It is necessary to develop the substitute material for natural leather because of its various defects. In this research, artificial leather was prepared by wet coagulation method with polyurethane resin in a laboratory instrument, and needle punching nonwoven fabric was used for substrate. We investigated the changes of various mechanical properties with small deformation and penetrating behavior of sewing needle into the fabric. In comparing mechanical properties of artificial leather with those of base nonwoven fabrics, B(bending rigidity) and 2HB(bending hysteresis) remarkably increased, and the intrinsic properties of base fabrics mainly affected the properties of the finished fabrics. Penetrating characteristics such as penetrating force, frictional force, withdrawal force, and penetrating energy increased with finishing and plying numbers. Dipping and coating processes with polyurethane play a significant role in obstructing needle penetrating into artificial leather.