Revista de nanomateriales y nanotecnología molecular

Structure and Air Permeability of Melt Blown Nanofiber Webs

Wanli Han, Xinhou Wang and Gajanan S Bhat

Structure and Air Permeability of Melt Blown Nanofiber Webs

Melt blown submicron fibers have been produced using two different multi-holes dies from commercially available polymers on a pilot line. Mean fiber diameters (MFD) along with fiber diameter distribution were investigated. Our results clearly showed that the fiber diameter distribution was different from the one observed in a single hole melt blowing process. Besides, the web pore size has been studied using capillary flow porometry in terms of the relationships among the processing conditions, fiber diameter and permeability. These results reveal that the process air pressure during melt blowing significantly influences the fiber diameter and its distribution, and the permeability of the webs. Furthermore, the pore size and pore size distribution are strongly associated with fiber diameter. This research provides a general understanding of the nanofiber web structure in a commercial melt blowing process.