2019 journal article

Characterizing nonwoven materials via realistic microstructural modeling

SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY, 211, 602–609.

By: A. Moghadam*, S. Yousefi*, H. Tafreshi* & B. Pourdeyhimi n

co-author countries: United States of America 🇺🇸
author keywords: Fibrous materials; Realistic modeling; Filter media simulation; Capillarity
Source: Web Of Science
Added: February 11, 2019

A physics-based nonwoven structure generation model is presented in this work. The model is capable of incorporating the mechanical properties of the fibers in the simulations by treating each fiber as an array of beads connected to one another via springs and dampers. Our algorithm can realistically simulate the bending of the fibers at fiber–fiber crossovers or when external forces are applied to the fibers during fiber deposition process. In fact, a unique attribute of the modeling approach presented in this work is that it can be modified to emulate, to some extent, the manufacturing process by which the nonwoven media have been produced. Unlike most previous structure generation models, our mass-spring-damper algorithm does not require the thickness or porosity of the media to be fed to the model as an input, and it is also capable of avoiding fiber–fiber overlaps. For demonstration purposes, virtual media with bimodal fiber diameter or contact angle distributions were produced and used to estimate the pressure required for water to penetrate through a hydrophobic fibrous membrane, i.e., the so-called liquid entry pressure (LEP). The LEP calculations here are based on a simplifying assumption that the air–water interface remains intact across the width of the simulation domain as it travels throughout the media. Effects of fiber diameter(s), fiber orientations, or fiber contact angle(s) on LEP are simulated and discussed in detail.