Method of making a belt-creped, absorbent cellulosic sheet with a perforated belt

A method of making a belt-creped absorbent cellulosic sheet, the method comprising:

• (a) compactively dewatering a papermaking furnish to form a dewatered web having an apparently random distribution of papermaking fiber orientation;
• (b) applying the dewatered web having the apparently random distribution of papermaking fiber orientation to a translating transfer surface that is moving at a transfer surface speed;
• (c) belt-creping the web from the transfer surface utilizing a polymeric creping belt provided with a plurality of perforations through the creping belt, wherein the web is creped from the transfer surface and redistributed on the creping belt to form a web having a plurality of interconnected regions of different local basis weights including at least:
• (i) a plurality of fiber-enriched hollow domed regions having densified caps, the fiber-enriched hollow domed regions projecting from an upper side of the web and having sidewalls;
• (ii) connecting regions forming a network interconnecting the fiber-enriched hollow domed regions of the web, the connecting regions having a local basis weight that is lower than a local basis weight of the fiber-enriched hollow domed regions;
• and
• (iii) transition areas that transition from the connecting regions into the fiber-enriched hollow domed regions, by extending upwardly and inwardly from the connecting regions into the sidewalls of the fiber-enriched hollow domed regions;
• and
• (d) drying the web to produce the belt-creped absorbent cellulosic sheet.

A method of making a belt-creped absorbent cellulosic sheet, the method comprising:

• (A) compactively dewatering a papermaking furnish to form a dewatered web having an apparently random distribution of papermaking fiber orientation;
• (B) applying the dewatered web having the apparently random distribution of papermaking fiber orientation to a translating transfer surface that is moving at a transfer surface speed;
• (C) belt-creping the web from the transfer surface utilizing a polymeric creping belt provided with a plurality of tapered perforations through the creping belt, wherein the web is creped from the transfer surface and redistributed on the creping belt to form a wet web on the creping belt having a plurality of fiber-enriched regions, the fiber enriched regions (a) having a local basis weight that is higher than a mean basis weight of the sheet and including (i) hollow domed portions, the hollow domed portions having upwardly projecting densified sidewalls and (ii) pileated fiber-enriched portions with a cross-machine direction fiber orientation bias adjacent to the hollow domed portions, and (b) being interconnected with connecting regions having a local basis weight that is lower than the local basis weight of the fiber-enriched regions;
• (D) applying a vacuum to the creping belt while the wet web is held on the creping belt, in order to expand the wet web and to merge the hollow domed portions and the pileated fiber-enriched portions;
• and
• (E) drying the web to produce the belt-creped absorbent cellulosic sheet.