Interlayer Liquid Transport in Multilayer Cellulose-Based Nonwovens.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Fluid Dynamics
• Textile Engineering

Background:

• Interlayer liquid transport in nonwovens is critical for applications such as e-cigarette atomizer cores, wound dressings, and baby diapers.
• Previous research primarily focused on single-layer nonwovens, leaving a gap in understanding multilayer systems.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically investigate liquid transport behaviors in both single-layer and multilayer nonwovens made of cellulose fibers.
• To identify key factors influencing interlayer liquid penetration time and develop predictive models.

Main Methods:

• Conducted systematic experiments on single-layer and multilayer nonwovens composed of cellulose fibers.
• Performed orthogonal experiments to assess the impact of fiber arrangement and assembly density.
• Developed pioneering models using regression analyses to correlate penetration time with physical parameters.

Main Results:

• In single-layer nonwovens, liquid diffusion depends on fiber hygroscopicity and interfiber pores.
• Multilayer nonwovens showed increased penetration time due to interrupted pathways, but reduced thickness or increased density shortened this time.
• Fiber arrangement across layers significantly influenced overall penetration time.

Conclusions:

• Fiber arrangement and assembly density are critical parameters for controlling interlayer liquid transport in multilayer nonwovens.
• Developed predictive models and an application-oriented computational tool to guide the design and optimization of liquid transport in nonwoven materials.
• Findings provide valuable insights for optimizing e-cigarette atomizer core performance and other related applications.