Woven Plastic Fabric

Woven plastic fabric (also known as woven polypropylene fabric, woven geotextile, or tarpaulin base fabric) is a textile-like material manufactured from flat tapes (slit films) or monofilaments of polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene (PE). The tapes are woven on circular or flat looms to form a stable, high-strength sheet. The material is supplied in roll form (woven fabric rolls) and is widely used in packaging, construction, agriculture, transportation, and geotechnical engineering.

1. Definition

Woven plastic fabric is produced by extruding PP or PE resin into a thin film, slitting the film into tapes (typically 2–5 mm wide), and stretching the tapes at elevated temperature to orient the polymer molecules. This orientation greatly increases tensile strength. The oriented tapes are then woven on looms in a plain weave (or other weaves) to create a fabric with high strength-to-weight ratio.

The fabric is usually delivered as a roll. Depending on the application, it can be used as-is (uncoated) or further processed by lamination (coating), printing, slitting, or bag-making.

2. Raw Materials

Polypropylene (PP) Woven Fabric

• Properties: High tensile strength, good creep resistance, low moisture absorption, relatively stiff handle.
• Elongation at break: typically 12–25 %.
• Melting point: ~160–170 °C.

Polyethylene (PE) Woven Fabric

• Properties: Softer, more flexible, better low-temperature impact resistance than PP.
• Elongation at break: typically 15–30 %.
• Melting point: ~120–130 °C.

Additives

• UV stabilizers (carbon black or HALS): required for outdoor applications (>6 months exposure).
• Flame retardants: for scaffolding protection fabrics, event tents.
• Antistatic agents: for FIBCs used in explosive dust environments.
• Color masterbatches: for coloured fabrics (green, blue, black, etc.).

3. Manufacturing Process

The production of woven plastic fabric involves two main stages: tape (flat yarn) extrusion and weaving.

3.1 Tape (Flat Yarn) Production

1. Extrusion: PP or PE resin is melted (190–250 °C) and extruded through a flat die to form a thin film.
2. Quenching: The film is rapidly cooled in a water bath to set the amorphous structure.
3. Slitting: The film is cut into narrow tapes (slit film tapes) of a defined width (e.g., 2.5 mm, 3.5 mm).
4. Stretching (orientation): Tapes are heated (120–150 °C) and stretched 4–8 times their original length. This aligns the polymer molecules, greatly increasing tensile strength.
5. Annealing (heat setting): The stretched tapes are relaxed at elevated temperature to reduce shrinkage.
6. Winding: The finished tapes are wound onto spindles (bobbins) for the weaving stage.

3.2 Weaving

• Circular looms: Produce tubular fabric (no side seam). Used for woven sacks, FIBC body fabric, and certain geotextiles.
• Flat looms (water-jet or rapier): Produce open-width (flat) fabric. Used for wide tarpaulins, geotextiles, and coated banner substrates.

Weave density (ends per inch / picks per inch) and tape width are adjusted to achieve the required GSM and mechanical properties.

3.3 Post-Processing

• Lamination (coating): PE or PP film is extruded onto one or both sides of the fabric. Lamination provides waterproofing, dust-tightness, and improved printability.
• Printing: Flexographic printing for logos, handling instructions, or branding.
• Slitting: Cutting wide rolls to narrower widths.
• Bag conversion: For woven sacks: tubular fabric is cut, one end is sewn or heat-sealed. For FIBCs: panels are cut and sewn together with lifting loops and filling spouts.

4. Classification

5. Key Technical Specifications

6. Applications

6.1 Packaging

• Woven sacks (25‑50 kg): cement, fertiliser, rice, animal feed, chemicals.
• FIBC (Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers) – “Big Bags” / “Tote bags”: 0.5‑3 t capacity, with lifting loops.
• Container liner bags: Large tubular fabric placed inside shipping containers for bulk powder transport.

6.2 Construction & Engineering

• Heavy-duty tarpaulins: Truck covers, flatbed tarps, building site covers.
• Woven geotextiles: Separation (prevents intermixing of subgrade soil and aggregate base), stabilisation (increases bearing capacity of unpaved roads), reinforcement (embankments and retaining walls).
• Scaffolding protection fabric: flame-retardant, often with eyelets.
• Waterproofing membrane carrier: fabric coated with bitumen or PVC to produce roofing membranes.

6.3 Agriculture & Horticulture

• Weed mat (ground cover): black, uncoated fabric that allows water and air but blocks light.
• Shade net (open-mesh woven fabric): provides adjustable shading for nurseries and greenhouses.
• Silage wrap (reinforced): woven scrim laminated with PE film; highly puncture-resistant for bale wrapping.
• Greenhouse thermal blanket: multilayer woven covers for frost protection.

6.4 Environmental & Public Works

• Landfill daily cover: heavy woven fabric (150‑200 g/m²) with carbon black to resist UV, prevents waste blow-away.
• Compost cover: breathable woven fabric for aerobic composting systems.
• Erosion control / wind break: installed on coastal or desert sand dunes.

6.5 Transportation & Logistics

• Railway wagon tarpaulins: large format, high strength, grommets and rope hems.
• Automatic chain tarps for tipper trucks (with chain pockets for mechanised opening/closing).

6.6 Geotechnical & Hydraulic Engineering

• Woven geotextile for road base stabilisation: placed beneath aggregate layers to reduce thickness requirement and improve rutting resistance.
• Filter fabric for drains / weep holes (controlled AOS).
• Wrap-around filter for perforated pipes (soft or rigid).

6.7 Other Applications

• Outdoor advertising banner substrate: coated woven fabric (PVC or acrylic) for large-format printing.
• Tent floor fabric: heavy laminated woven fabric with anti-slip texture.
• Reusable shopping bags: lightweight PP woven fabric (non-coated).

7. Applicable Standards

8. Technical Trends

• Recycled content: PP woven fabrics with up to 30-50% post-industrial or post-consumer recycled resin are increasingly available for non-food-contact applications.
• Lightweight high-strength: Through optimised tape orientation and weaving patterns, 70‑80 g/m² fabrics now achieve tensile strengths previously requiring 100 g/m².
• Multi-layer co-extruded tapes: Core layer (recycled) with virgin skin layers to maintain UV resistance and printability while reducing cost.
• Biodegradable woven fabrics: Experimental PLA-based flat tapes; currently limited to short-life horticultural applications due to higher cost and lower mechanical performance.

9. Selection Considerations

• Outdoor use (>6 months): UV stabilisation (≥ 70 % residual strength after 500 h accelerated test) is mandatory. Black fabric with 2‑3 % carbon black is the most cost-effective UV solution.
• Waterproofing: Use double-side laminated (coated) fabric. Do not laminate weed mat or drainage geotextiles – they require water permeability.
• Heavy lifting (FIBCs): Specify safety factor 5:1 or 6:1; verify loop stitching and base reinforcement.
• Low-temperature environments: Prefer PE-based or PP/PE blend fabrics over 100 % PP to avoid brittleness.
• Food contact: Only virgin resins with approved additives (FDA / EU food contact compliant) are allowed.

10. References