Simulation of jet velocity in the melt-blowing process using the coupled air–polymer model

The polymer jet velocity is one of the most basic and critical factors in the melt-blowing process and has always been difficult to measure online. Much effort has been made on the numerical prediction of the jet velocity. However, little work has involved the complex interaction between the air flow and the polymer. Here, the Level-Set method is used to develop the coupled air–polymer two-phase flow model, and to simulate the polymer jet motion in the melt-blowing process considering the coupled effect of the air and polymer. Meanwhile, high-speed photography is adopted in the experiments to verify the simulation results. The x- and y-components of the jet velocities and the whipping amplitude of the jet motion are discussed. The rapid increase of jet velocity and the decrease of jet diameter show that most attenuation of the polymer jet occurred within a distance close to the die (10 mm). Based on the model, the effects of the processing parameters on the jet velocity are examined numerically.