Two-Dimensional Simulation of Electrospun Nanofibrous Structures: Connection of Experimental and Simulated Results

Abstract

Nanofibrous mats were obtained from electrospinning Nylon-6 solutions with concentrations of 30 and 35 wt% and were tested for filtration of polystyrene particles in suspension. Some experimental results were compared with the simulated ones. In the simulation, the two-dimensional structures were constructed by randomly depositing a nanofiber, which was assumed as an ellipse with an aspect ratio of 100, one by one. The nanofiber size is assumed to be polydisperse. The results showed that simulated configurations resembled real nanofibers with polydisperse diameters. Fibers from higher solution concentration were larger, resulting in larger pore size, which was confirmed with simulations. Varying the size distribution around the same average value did not make any difference to the surface coverage but it affected 2D pore areas for the systems at low fiber density. In addition, the probability for a particle to pass through the porous structure was less when the fiber density was higher and the particle diameter was larger, which was consistent with the filtration test. Lastly, water flux measurement could yield the void volume fraction as well as the volume-averaged pore diameter, which was found to be greater than the averaged 2D pore diameter from SEM micrographs by the quantity related to the fiber size.

Research progress, models and simulation of electrospinning technology: a review

“…The results obtained by the two methods are qualitatively consistent with the experimental results and found the balance of ion concentration and field strength affects forming beads in nanofibers. Danwanichakul et al [ 223 ] used Monte Carlo method to simulate the deposition stage of nanofibers, obtained the positive correlation between the concentration and the pore size of the fibers, and tested the filtration performance of polystyrene particles, which was consistent with the experimental results. Sarmadi et al [ 224 ] simulated the protein adsorption capacity of electrospun PCL/PVA nanofibers by molecular dynamics method, which was consistent with the experimental results.…”

Antibacterial activity and heavy metal removal efficiency of electrospun medium molecular weight chitosan/nylon-6 nanofibre membranes

“…Leakages of intracellular substances can be caused by cell permeability and can lead to the death of cells. This mechanism has been demonstrated by electron microscopy [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. With an increase in the number of amine groups, the charge of chitosan increases, which strengthens the interaction between the cells and chitosan.…”

Optimizing the electrospinning parameters in polyvinyl chloride nanofiber fabrication using CCD

“…A reverse relationship was also observed between porosity and pressure loss with a correlation coefficient of 0.198, as increasing porosity leads to reduced pressure loss. Danwanichakul and Danwanichakul (2014) stated that by increasing concentration from 30% to 35%, the diameter of nylon 6 nanofibers increased from 103 nm to 144 nm while also increasing the number of fibers. This results in increased thickness of the fibers and thus higher-pressure loss.…”