Cotton Incorporated's Professional Curriculum Expands With Focus On Technical Textiles

Cotton University adds four new courses to the College of Nonwovens

Cotton Incorporated, the research and promotion company for U.S. cotton producers and importers, expands offerings on its Cotton University platform with four new courses in the College of Nonwovens section. Cotton University is an online resource aimed at supporting today's industry professionals, while nurturing the next generation through education and engagement.

"The ‘Introduction to Nonwovens' lectures received more than 2,600 page views in the past year, teaching viewers about unique nonwoven materials, applications and cotton's ever-growing role in this market," says Jan O'Regan, director of nonwovens marketing for Cotton Incorporated. "Today, we expand the content offerings of technical videos paired with exclusive interviews from industry experts, including Dr. Behnam Pourdeyhimi."

New courses for the College of Nonwovens are:

• Raw Materials Used in Nonwovens - reviews the various materials used in the nonwovens market including how they affect processing, fabric properties, and end use applications.
• Nonwoven Materials & Structures: Fiber Orientation and Basis Weight - addresses the unique structural aspects of nonwovens beginning with fiber orientation and basis weight. Including, how they affect material strength, permeability and uniformity.
• Nonwoven Materials & Structures: Fiber Shape and Size – explores fiber geometry in terms of fiber fineness, cross-sectional shape, crimp, and fiber length. Also, the impact they have on properties such as softness, absorbency, and filtration ability.
• Nonwoven Materials & Structures: Bicomponent Fibers and Pore Structures - provides a look into various types of bicomponent fibers and how they are tied to characteristics such as pore structures which affect fluid management. This course demonstrates how this is an important factor for many applications including filtration, diapers, and wipes.

"Cotton Incorporated's education series is an invaluable resource, whether you're a newcomer or industry veteran across the nonwovens supply chain," explains Dr. Behnam Pourdeyhimi, founding executive director of the Nonwovens Institute at North Carolina State University. "The series offers an instructive overview and a view of lab testing in action to understand why we study nonwovens -- in less than 30 minutes."

The College of Nonwovens courses debuted in 2016 providing an overview of the industry. A nonwoven is a sheet or web structure bonded together by entangling fibers or filaments by machine, heat or chemical. A variety of raw materials including natural fibers such as cotton are used to engineer specific performance characteristics such as wipes, diapers, feminine hygiene and adult incontinence products.