METHOD OF MAKING A FABRIC-CREPED ABSORBENT CELLULOSIC SHEET

摘要

A method of making a fabric-creped absorbent cellulosic sheet. A papermaking furnish is compactively dewatered to form a nascent web having an apparently random distribution of papermaking fiber. The dewatered web is applied to a translating transfer surface that is moving at a transfer surface speed. The web is fabric creped from the transfer surface utilizing a patterned creping fabric. The fabric creping step occurs under pressure in a fabric creping nip defined between the transfer surface and the creping fabric. The creping fabric travels at a fabric speed that is slower than the transfer surface speed. The creping fabric contacts the transfer surface and applies pressure to the web against the transfer surface such that the fibers of the web are redistributed on the creping fabric to form a web with a drawable reticulum having a plurality of interconnected regions of different local basis weights.

主权项

1. A method of making a fabric-creped absorbent cellulosic sheet, the method comprising:
(a) compactively dewatering a papermaking furnish to form a nascent web having an apparently random distribution of papermaking fiber; (b) applying the dewatered web having the apparently random fiber distribution to a translating transfer surface that is moving at a transfer surface speed; and (c) fabric creping the web from the transfer surface at a consistency of from about 30 percent to about 60 percent utilizing a patterned creping fabric, the fabric creping step occurring under pressure in a fabric creping nip defined between the transfer surface and the creping fabric, the creping fabric traveling at a fabric speed that is slower than the transfer surface speed, wherein the creping fabric is adapted to contact the transfer surface and applies pressure to the web against the transfer surface such that the fibers of the web are redistributed on the creping fabric to form a web with a drawable reticulum having a plurality of interconnected regions of different local basis weights, the drawable reticulum comprising a cohesive fiber matrix capable of increasing in void volume.