The motion characteristic of the polymer jet in a non-isothermal airflow field during melt blowing plays a crucial role in the process of fiber formation and has always been difficult to measure in situ. Many numerical models have been established to simulate the motion of the polymer jet during melt blowing. However, the complex interplay between the airflow field and the polymer jet in these models was usually missed. Here, a coupled air–polymer two-phase flow model in the non-isothermal airflow field was developed by the level-set method, and the temperature dependence of viscosity and density for the polymer jet were also taken into account in our model. Based on the model, the motion of the polymer jet in the melt-blowing process was simulated considering the coupled effect between the air and the polymer jet. The velocities of the polymer jet along x-direction () and y-direction (), the whipping amplitude of the polymer jet motion, and the final diameter were discussed and verified. In addition, the effects of critical parameters, such as the inlet airflow velocity, inlet polymer flow velocity, inlet air temperature, and polymer viscosity, on the motion characteristics and temperature of the polymer jet were analyzed numerically.
YarinASinha-RaySPourdeyhimiB.Meltblowing: multiple polymer jets and fiber-size distribution and lay-down patterns. Polymer2011;
52: 2929–2938.
5.
DrabekJZatloukalM.Meltblown technology for production of polymeric microfibers/nanofibers: a review. Phys Fluid2019;
31: 091301.
6.
JafariMShimEJoijodeA.Fabrication of poly (lactic acid) filter media via the meltblowing process and their filtration performances: a comparative study with polypropylene meltblown. Separat Purif Technol2021;
260: 118185.
7.
HadjizadehAAjjiABureauMN.Preparation and characterization of NaOH treated micro-fibrous polyethylene terephthalate nonwovens for biomedical application. J Mech Behav Biomed Mater2010;
3: 574–583.
8.
ZhangHZhenQCuiJ, et al.
Groove-shaped polypropylene/polyester micro/nanofibrous nonwoven with enhanced oil wetting capability for high oil/water separation. Polymer2020;
193: 122356.
9.
LuisoSHenryJJPourdeyhimiB, et al.
Fabrication and characterization of meltblown poly (vinylidene difluoride) membranes. ACS Appl Polym Mater2020;
2: 2849–2857.
10.
HaoXZengY.A review on the studies of air flow field and fiber formation process during melt blowing. Ind Eng Chem Res2019;
58: 11624–11637.
11.
DrabekJZatloukalM.Influence of molecular weight, temperature, and extensional rheology on melt blowing process stability for linear isotactic polypropylene. Phys Fluid2020;
32: 083110.
12.
Wang Y, Qiu Y, Ji C, et al. The effect of the geometric structure of the modified slot die on the air field distribution in the meltblowing process. Text Res J 2022; 92(3-4): 423–433.
13.
UyttendaeleMAJShambaughRL.Melt blowing: general equation development and experimental verification. AIChE J1990;
36: 175–186.
14.
YinHYanZBreseeRR.Experimental study of the meltblowing process. Int Nonwov J1999;
8: 60–65.
15.
WuTTShambaughRL.Characterization of the melt blowing process with laser Doppler velocimetry. Ind Eng Chem Res1992;
31: 379–389.
16.
ChhabraRShambaughRL.Experimental measurements of fiber threadline vibrations in the melt-blowing process. Ind Eng Chem Res1996;
35: 4366–4374.
17.
HongYYanZKoWC, et al.
Fundamental description of the melt blowing process. Int Nonwov J2000;
9: 25–28.
18.
BeardJHShambaughRLShambaughBR, et al.
On-line measurement of fiber motion during melt blowing. Ind Eng Chem Res2007;
46: 7340–7352.
19.
XieSZengY.Online measurement of fiber whipping in the melt-blowing process. Ind Eng Chem Res2013;
52: 2116–2122.
20.
RaoRSShambaughRL.Vibration and stability in the melt blowing process. Ind Eng Chem Res1993;
32: 3100–3111.
21.
MarlaVTShambaughRL.Three-dimensional model of the melt-blowing process. Ind Eng Chem Res2003;
42: 6993–7005.
22.
ChenTHuangX.Modeling polymer air drawing in the melt blowing nonwoven process. Text Res J2003;
73: 651–654.
23.
ZengYSunYWangX.Numerical approach to modeling fiber motion during melt blowing. J Appl Polym Sci2011;
119: 2112–2123.
24.
JareckiLZiabickiA.Mathematical modelling of the pneumatic melt spinning of isotactic polypropylene Part II. Dynamic model of melt blowing. Fibre Text East Eur2008;
16: 17–24.
25.
ChungCKumarS.Onset of whipping in the melt blowing process. J Non Newt Fluid Mech2013;
192: 37–47.
26.
SunGYangJSunX, et al.
Simulation and modeling of microfibrous web formation in melt blowing. Ind Eng Chem Res2016;
55: 5431–5437.
27.
SunGRuanYWangX, et al.
Numerical study of melt-blown fibrous web uniformity based on the fiber dynamics on a collector. Ind Eng Chem Res2019;
58: 23519–23528.
28.
KrutkaHMShambaughRLPapavassiliouDV.Effects of the polymer fiber on the flow field from an annular melt-blowing die. Ind Eng Chem Res2007;
46: 655–666.
29.
KrutkaHMShambaughRLPapavassiliouDV.Effects of the polymer fiber on the flow field from a slot melt blowing die. Ind Eng Chem Res2008;
47: 935–945.
30.
YangYZengY.Simultaneous measurement in nonisothermal melt-blowing airflow field: time-averaged and turbulent characteristics. Ind Eng Chem Res2020;
59: 10664–10672.
31.
HaoXHuangHZengY.Simulation of jet velocity in the melt-blowing process using the coupled air–polymer model. Text Res J2018;
89: 3221–3233.
32.
HarphamASShambaughRL.Flow field of practical dual rectangular jets. Ind Eng Chem Res1996;
35: 3776–3781.
33.
BansalVShambaughRL.On-line determination of diameter and temperature during melt blowing of polypropylene. Ind Eng Chem Res1998;
37: 1799–1806.
34.
BreseeRRKoWC.Fiber formation during melt blowing. Int Nonwov J2003;
12: 21–28.
35.
MarlaVTShambaughRLPapavassiliouDV.Online measurement of fiber diameter and temperature in the melt-spinning and melt-blowing processes. Ind Eng Chem Res2009;
48: 8736–8744.
Wilcox D. A half century historical review of the k-omega model. In: 29th aerospace sciences meeting. Reno, Nevada, USA: AIAA, 1991, pp. 615.
38.
KaseSMatsuoT.Studies on melt spinning. I. Fundamental equations on the dynamics of melt spinning. J Polym Sci A Gen Pap1965;
3: 2541–2554.
39.
HaynesBD.An experimental and analytical investigation on the production of microfibers using a single-hole melt blowing process. PhD Thesis, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1991, p.292.
40.
ZhaoRWadsworthLC.Study of polypropylene/poly(ethylene terephthalate) bicomponent melt-blowing process: the fiber temperature and elongational viscosity profiles of the spinline. J Appl Polym Sci2003;
89: 1145–1150.
41.
JareckiLZiabickiALewandowskiZ, et al.
Dynamics of air drawing in the melt blowing of nonwovens from isotactic polypropylene by computer modeling. J Appl Polym Sci2011;
119: 53–65.
42.
KikutaniTRadhakrishnanJArikawaS, et al.
High-speed melt spinning of bicomponent fibers: mechanism of fiber structure development in poly(ethylene terephthalate)/polypropylene system. J Appl Polym Sci1996;
62: 1913–1924.
43.
Bertin JJ and Smith ML. Aerodynamics for engineers. 3rd ed. London: Prentice-Hall, 1998.
44.
PratapR.Getting started with MATLAB 5 – a quick introduction for scientists and engineers.
New York:
Oxford University Press, 2010.
45.
EllisonCJPhatakAGilesDW, et al.
Melt blown nanofibers: fiber diameter distributions and onset of fiber breakup. Polymer2007;
48: 3306–3316.
46.
HassanMAAnantharamaiahNKhanSA, et al.
Computational fluid dynamics simulations and experiments of meltblown fibrous media: new die designs to enhance fiber attenuation and filtration quality. Ind Eng Chem Res2016;
55: 2049–2058.
47.
FridrikhSVYuJHBrennerMP, et al.
Controlling the fiber diameter during electrospinning. Phys Rev Lett2003;
90: 144502.
48.
SunYZengYWangX.Three-dimensional model of whipping motion in the processing of microfibers. Ind Eng Chem Res2011;
50: 1099–1109.
49.
XieSHanW. Simulation and verification of fiber diameter re-increasing in melt blowing process. J Text Res2017;
38: 17–21.
