Analysis and Simulation of Fiber Dispersion in Water Using a Theoretical Analogous Model

Abstract

The wet-lay nonwoven processing is divided into fiber dispersing and blending, web formation, drying, and finally, consolidating the formed web. Fiber dispersion is the most crucial step of this process. The required time and necessary agitation to separate and disperse fibers depends on fiber characteristics. In this work, theoretical and experimental studies were done to investigate the effects of fibers characteristics on their dispersion in water for wet-laid nonwoven. Two effective forces of drag and surface tension were modeled using linear spring and damper to analyze the fiber behaviors in a stirred mixing tank. Results show that when the fiber diameter is increased, the required time for breaking up of fiber bundles and clumps is increased. The effect of fiber types on fibers break up and dispersing time were also investigated. In the experimental work, an on-line vision system was developed to observe the dispersion behavior of polyester and glass fibers.

Keywords:

• Fiber dispersion
• glass fiber
• image analysis
• stirred mixing tank
• wet-lay