Assessing the Tribological Performance of Sanitary Pads

Abstract

The impact of tribological performance on comfort and user satisfaction in material-skin interactions is an established field of study. Work in this field has translated to the investigation of incontinence products, but the performance of sanitary pad products has been largely overlooked despite the substantial user group. With the push for sustainability in personal care products, reusable products are a growing market that should be a key focus for product development. This study investigated the frictional characteristics of three reusable and five disposable sanitary pads in contact with silicone skin surrogate and PLA reference pin, to work towards understanding the impact of material composition selection on comfort. Repeat tests were conducted on dry and increasingly saturated samples to measure the coefficient of friction on both disposable and reusable pads. With one reusable product being assessed following three sequential wash and dry cycles to assess frictional response to cleaning. Reusable pads showed a lower coefficient of friction comparative to disposable pads regardless of top cover composition with silicone surrogate interactions. Across both product types, favourably friction coefficients were seen in bamboo composition top covers. Thickness and material composition both contribute to the variance seen in interactions and require further investigation into how to optimise material properties for sanitary products from a comfort perspective. Washing cycles applied to one reusable product, showed a marginal reduction in friction, indicating smoothing or coating of the fibres may be taking place and could impact comfort perception, which should be assessed further to understand the impact on product lifetime comparative to absorbency potential