During their usage nonwovens have to undergo a variety of load conditions with different directions and strain rates. Although the mechanical properties of nonwovens have been researched extensively there is still no model equation describing the tensile behaviour of nonwovens thoroughly. One reason for this is the anisotropy of the fibre orientation and thus of the mechanical properties of the nonwoven along with the local variation of base weight, which are both induced during the production process and cause variations in the mechanical performance [1]. While there are a few studies either dealing with the dependency of the tensile behaviour on the testing speed or with its direction dependency, the combination of both has not been investigated and modelled yet. Thus the aim of this work is to develop a model for the mechanical behaviour of polypropylene nonwovens for different test directions and strain rates. The mechanical properties of thermally point-bonded nonwovens, which are determined by the properties of the bonding points and of the unbonded areas, have been studied on two different polypropylene spunbond nonwovens with base weights of 15 and 25 gram per square meter. To work out a detailed model for the mechanical behaviour of the nonwovens the orientation distribution function of the filaments in both materials was determined. By performing tensile tests with three different speeds and in seven directions from machine direction to cross direction, a profound understanding of the tensile behaviour could be achieved. It appeared, that due to the strong anisotropy of the material the test direction has a much higher influence on the mechanical strength than the strain rate. Furthermore the results were used to develop a model for the mechanical behaviour of the nonwovens, which makes it possible to predict the stress-strain curves of nonwovens for any testing direction as well as for different strain rates and base weights. References: [1] Albrecht, W.; Fuchs, H.; Kittelmann, W. Nonwoven Fabrics: Raw Materials, Manufacture, Applications, Characteristics, Testing Processes (2006)