Simulation of Breakup Process of Polymer Jet during Melt Blowing

Abstract

A Level- set method coupled with the Navier-Stokes equations was applied to simulate the breakup process of polymer jet during melt blowing. The initial perturbation was represented by a trigonometric function. The theory of the polymer jet breakup process driven by surface tension was explained and the breakup process was illustrated visually by simulation results. By varying the parameter values in the model, the effects of viscosity, diameter, surface tension, and surrounding perturbation on the fiber breakup process were discussed. Experiments were conducted to explore the effects of processing conditions on the fiber breakup process and validate the simulation results. It is suggested that lowering the surface tension of polymer through physical and chemical modification can help to reduce the possibility of polymer jet breakup and produce melt blown nonwovens with better quality.