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Journal of Pulp and Paper Science, 23(7)J1-J7(1997).
SURFACE ROUGHENING BY WATER: GLOSS RELAXATION PROCESSES
TOSHIHARU ENOMAE AND PIERRE LEPOUTRE
PAPER SURFACE SCIENCE PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITY OF MAINE
ORONO, ME 04469
USA
ABSTRACT
A new instrument is used to measure simultaneously the gloss and the moisture content of a sample of paper as it is subjected to changes in relative humidity. Measurements made with five different papers confirm the overall inverse relationship between gloss and moisture content reported in the literature, although there are reversals (gloss increasing with moisture content) which are unexplained. A significant result of this work is that gloss lags behind moisture content after a step change in RH, apparently reflecting the continuing structural rearrangement of the fibers in the bulk of the sheet as moisture diffuses into fiber walls. This explains why, in order to stabilize sheet gloss to moisture effects, it is not enough to stabilize the surface only, as is done in surface treatment processes involving a thermal gradient.