Computer Simulation of Liquid Wetting in Low Density Fibrous Networks, 2021 TAPPICon Live (21TAPL)

The absorption characteristics, including the rate of wetting and volumetric holding capacity of aqueous solutions, are important quality metrics for retail and away from home paper towels. The spreading of liquid is a function of the surface energetics of the liquid-fiber system, as well as the heterogeneous distribution of fiber density within the structure. Kitchen towels incorporate structural features that cause a wide variation in the local web density that spans dimensions from the fiber scale (10-6 m) to embossments and multi-plies (10-3 m). Most standard absorption test rely on the bulk absorption behavior of the products in attempt to simulate end use performance [1]. Recent studies [2, 3] have explored the meso-scale wetting behavior, with interest in observing how structural features and liquid chemistry influence wetting. The modeling of liquid wetting up to now has focused on the use of the traditional wetting theory, such as that of Lucas-Washburn [4].

This paper describes a new approach for numerically modelling the wetting behavior of paper towel structures using 3D X-ray microscopic (3D-XRM) data sets as the volumetric structure within which the movement of the liquid is tracked. The approach is based on a modified Ising Model [5] and recent implementations thereof [6, 7] that model the wetting of simulated fibers and fibrous structures. The model uses the surface energetic parameters of the liquid and solid surfaces to predict the spreading of the liquid into the heterogeneous fibrous structure.  

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