Book excerpt: Handbook of Nonwovens, Second Edition updates and expands its popular interdisciplinary treatment of the properties, processing, and applications of nonwovens. Initial chapters review the development of the industry and the different classes of nonwoven material. The book then discusses methods of manufacture such as dry-laid, wet-laid, and polymer-laid web formation. Other techniques analyzed include mechanical, thermal, and chemical bonding, as well as chemical and mechanical finishing systems. The book concludes by assessing the characterization, testing, and modeling of nonwoven materials.Covering an unmatched range of materials with a variety of compositions and manufacturing routes, this remains the indispensable reference to nonwovens for designers, engineers, materials scientists, and researchers, particularly those interested in the manufacturing of automotive, aerospace, and medical products. Nonwovens are a unique class of textile material formed from fibers that are bonded together through various means to form a coherent structure. The range of properties they can embody make them an important part of a range of innovative products and solutions, which continues to attract interest from industry as well as academia. - Describes in detail the manufacturing processes of a range of nonwoven materials - Provides detailed coverage of the mechanical and thermal properties of non-woven fabrics - Includes extensive updates throughout on the characterization and testing of nonwovens - Explains how to model nonwoven structures