An Overview on Modeling Fluid Absorption in Fibrous Media, 2011 Innovative Nonwovens Conference

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This presentation reviews the current state of the art in performing computationally-inexpensive simulations of fluid absorption in fibrous media. Our review starts with a discussion on the available microscale simulation methods for predicting the capillary pressure and relative permeability of fibrous fabrics, and continues to review how the information generated via microscale simulations can be incorporated in a macroscale model that predicts the rare of fluid spread and penetration in a nonwoven fabric. Our macroscale model is developed by numerically solving Richards’ equation of two-phase diffusive flows in porous media using finite element method. In this review, we also discuss the effects of fiber orientation and fiber diameter distributions on capillary pressure and relative permeability, and their influence on the rate of fluid absorption in fibrous media. The dual-scale simulation method presented in this work allows design and optimization fluid absorption nonwoven fabrics with an affordable CPU time.