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Title: ACOUSTIC EMISSION STUDIES FOR LEATHER COATINGS

Author
item Liu, Cheng Kung
item Latona, Nicholas - Nick
item Dimaio, Gary

Submitted to: Journal of American Leather Chemists Association
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/17/2002
Publication Date: 10/1/2002
Citation: LIU, C., LATONA, N.P., DIMAIO, G.L. ACOUSTIC EMISSION STUDIES FOR LEATHER COATINGS. JOURNAL OF AMERICAN LEATHER CHEMISTS ASSOCIATION. 2002. V. 97. P. 389-399.

Interpretive Summary: In leather finishing, film-forming materials (coatings) are applied on the grain surface to provide abrasion resistance and more importantly to beautify the leather. It is also the last step to cover any minor surface defects such as small scratches and cracks. Choosing the right coating is critical in obtaining a satisfactory finishing result, such as good flexing gendurance and no surface cracking. Acoustic emission (AE) technology employs "listening" to and analyzing the sounds emitted by a material as it is stretched. As a continuation of our efforts to investigate the applications of acoustic emission technology to leather manufacture, we exploited the (AE) technique to measure the flexing endurance of leather coatings. An acoustic sensor was clipped to the grain layer of finished leather in a strength test to collect various acoustic quantities. The results of this work provide a facile route to measure the flexibility of coatings, which previously was difficult to measure.

Technical Abstract: Finishing, the final step in the leather-making process, contributes to the beauty and durability of leather. Choosing the right coating is critical in obtaining a satisfactory finishing result, such as good flexing endurance and no surface cracking. Acoustic emission (AE) has been known to be a useful method to characterize the coating properties for the automobile industry. As a continuation of our efforts to investigate the applications of acoustic emission technology to leather manufacture, we exploited the AE technique to measure the flexing endurance of leather coatings. An acoustic sensor was clipped to the grain layer of finished leather in a tensile test to collect various acoustic quantities. Observations showed that differences in the flexibility of the coatings can be detected in the early history plot of the AE count rate. We have concluded that the flexibility of the coatings is strongly associated with the comulative acoustic counts produced at an initial tensile stretch. The results of this AE research may provide a route to examine the flexing endurance leather coatings.