Study on uniformity of a melt-blown fibrous web based on an image analysis technique

Abstract

Melt blowing is a one-step process to manufacture products with superfine fibers with diameter <5 μm (and even below 1 μm). As an intermediate product, a melt-blown (MB) web provides a strong influence on the functional properties of the final MB products. In this paper, the influence of processing conditions on the uniformity of a MB web is studied using an image analysis technique, including nominal air jet pressure, polymer volume flow rate, air suction velocity, and the moving speed of the collection belt. This study enables us to quantify the influence of the processing conditions on the uniformity of MB fibrous web.