Examination of liquid management of sub-compression wadding for chronic venous disorders

Abstract

This study has been undertaken to analyse the effect of constructional and physical parameters of different wadding or padding materials on the performance of their fluid transport behavior. For fair comparison, a series of 18 wadding samples have been made from polypropylene fibres using dry laid/needle punching process. The testing is conducted using a laboratory-based prototype capable to describe liquid spreading of a fibrous substrate. Several structural factors of the wadding including fibre linear density, mass per unit area and needling density have been examined. Moreover, the effect of other physical factors, such as application of external pressure (transverse loading) and rate of liquid discharge, is also analyzed. It is found that the spreading rate (wet area per unit time) decreases with an increase in mass per unit area and needling density of the nonwoven sample (p < 0.01). Low fibre linear density in the structure shows a poor rate of spreading compared to high-fibre linear density (p < 0.01). Increasing the transverse pressure on the wadding stimulates slower spreading (p < 0.01). It is recommended to use wadding samples with more porosity and larger pore size to obtain faster spreading of liquid exudates during the course of compression treatment.