• Low energy fibers
• Absorption of converted tissue products
• Tissue surface and tactile evaluation

 

Low Energy Fibres

Fibres from various sources are sought which require less energy for drying. Fibre bonds that traditionally give strength to the paper are not essential in tissue making. Instead, softness, bulk and absorption are attributes that are strived for. In the project, fibres will be treated through fractionation, chemical and thermal treatment, and their dewatering properties and drying energy will be studied. The project will need co-operation with chemical producers, so  that the right chemistry can be found to give optimum softness, strength and absorbency.

 

Absorption of converted tissue products

Many of the interesting quality parameters are given to tissue products in the converting chain. Softness, bulk and the appeal from visual and tactile sensations are often provided in the converting unit processes. There are  possibilities to affect and improve the absorption characteristics of a tissue product in the converting operation, but this is an area where more research is required. A project is planned with the following objectives: - Study the influence of converting parameters on pore volume distribution. - Correlate pore volume distribution to absorption rate and capacity. - Use high speed video to study the conditions for spreading of water in a fibre network. - Try to improve wet resiliency in the converting process. The project will invite co-operation with manufacturers of converting equipment and embossing rolls.

 

Tissue surface and tactile evaluation

The creping is the key process in the manufacturing of the tissue base paper. Measurement of crepe frequency is the target for a development project turning an image analysis apparatus called OpiTopo into a high speed on-line  measurement system. There is among major tissue producers a great interest in both visual and tactile evaluation of tissue product surfaces in a virtual environment. As yet, there is no viable system for a tactile display apparatus simulating real touch, although there is much work on this area, for example with the aim to produce a virtual Braille script. A project will be started trying to design and test a tactile display apparatus to be used in panel tests of tissue samples.