Journal of Porous Media

ISSN for PRINT: 1091-028X

For Online Access

Best Paper Award Selection - Editorial Board Site

2008, Volume11

Issue 1

122 pages

DOI: 10.1615/JPorMedia.v11.i1

Issue price - $107.00

P. Xiang
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7910, USA

A. V. Kuznetsov
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, Campus Box 7910, Raleigh, NC 27695-7910, USA

A. M. Seyam
College of Textiles, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-8301, USA

In the hydroentanglement process, a fiberweb composed of initially loose fibers, which is supported by forming wires, continuously passes under several manifolds of multiple fine jets of highly pressurized water. The impact of the jets causes fiber entanglement in the fiberweb and produces a high-quality fabric. In this article, a theoretical model of the hydroentanglement process is developed. The fiberweb is modeled as a porous layer, which is supported by a periodic net of forming wires. The model is based on the assumption that the degree of fiber entanglement and, consequently, the strength of the fabric are proportional to the average water vorticity in the fiberweb. Numerical simulations are performed to study the water flow field and the vorticity in the fiberweb. The effects of the thickness of the porous fiberweb layer, its permeability, and the inlet water jet velocity on the degree of fiber entanglement are investigated. Simulations show that most of the fibers are entangled in the MD-CD plane. There is a critical fiberweb thickness for a given jet pressure, and a critical jet velocity for a given fiberweb thickness. If the fiberweb thickness or jet velocity is larger than critical, the process is not efficient.

DOI: 10.1615/JPorMedia.v11.i1.30 Download article, 35-49 pages

Article price - $35.00

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