Abstract
An ultrasonic bonding technique (low-energy bonding technique) is newly applied to produce geocomposite fabric and the technique can be used to bond two materials (film and nonwoven) in a single bonding step. The application areas of the fabric are steadily growing such as liners of industrial and municipal waste, drainage material of wall, temporary drainer, and various liner for water. In this study, the geocomposite consists of a combination of film (upper part) and nonwoven fabric (lower part) and the film is laminated and fused on one side of nonwoven by ultrasonic bonding technique. From the study of manufacture and physical property of geocomposite fabric, the physical property of film is remarkably increased with thickness 0.2 mm and over. For ultrasonic treated nonwoven fabric, the mechanical properties of prepunched nonwoven fabric are increased with a good entanglement of fibers but spunbonded fabrics show an opposite trend. The optimum weight of fabric must be considered for the perfect fusion of the thicker geocomposite. The synergy effects on the mechanical properties of the geocomposites through this technique are also found. The processing conditions, such as horn pressure and the feeding speed, can enhance the mechanical properties of the geocomposites. In addition, dense structure of nonwoven fabric has an important effect on the fusion of geocomposite as well as melting temperature of fiber, and seam strength of geocomposites is equal to tensile strength (CD) of film.