%0 Journal Article %A Xiang, P. %A Kuznetsov, Andrey V. %A Seyam, A. M. %D 2008 %I Begell House %N 1 %P 35-49 %R 10.1615/JPorMedia.v11.i1.30 %T A Porous Medium Model of the Hydro entanglement Process %U https://www.dl.begellhouse.com/journals/49dcde6d4c0809db,2fd2ac155a3a2f3c,1d909a9b163ee1a9.html %V 11 %X In the hydroentanglement process, a fiberweb composed of initially loose fibers, which is supported by forming wires, continuously passes under several manifolds of multiple fine jets of highly pressurized water. The impact of the jets causes fiber entanglement in the fiberweb and produces a high-quality fabric. In this article, a theoretical model of the hydroentanglement process is developed. The fiberweb is modeled as a porous layer, which is supported by a periodic net of forming wires. The model is based on the assumption that the degree of fiber entanglement and, consequently, the strength of the fabric are proportional to the average water vorticity in the fiberweb. Numerical simulations are performed to study the water flow field and the vorticity in the fiberweb. The effects of the thickness of the porous fiberweb layer, its permeability, and the inlet water jet velocity on the degree of fiber entanglement are investigated. Simulations show that most of the fibers are entangled in the MD-CD plane. There is a critical fiberweb thickness for a given jet pressure, and a critical jet velocity for a given fiberweb thickness. If the fiberweb thickness or jet velocity is larger than critical, the process is not efficient. %8 2007-08-28