This project is carried out as a part of the NSF Research Centers -Small Firms Collaborative R&D initiative, under the leadership of the Nonwovens Cooperative Research Center (NCRC) at North Carolina State University. NCRC is a S/IUCRC established by the National Science Foundation.
This study seeks to develop collaborative research projects with small businesses. A full member and an affiliate of NCRC has joined investigators to carry out two separate projects.
One of them (Goulston Technologies, Inc.) seeks to understand the fundamental mechanisms involved in application of spin-finishes to fibers and its eventual distribution of the fibers. Inasmuch as staple fibers cannot be processed into fabrics without suitable spin-finishes, this is a very critical issue and has substantial impact on the economics of the industry.
The other project relates to melt blowing, a fast growing technology for making a wide variety of nonwoven fabrics,. The research here (Blax Fiberfilm, Inc.) seeks to optimize the design of melt-blowing dies capable of producing a range of course-to-fine fibers with minimal diametric variations, for the selected degree of fineness, at high throughputs (low energy costs). Such dies have the potential of permitting engineering of melt-blown structures with varying levels of porosity across the thickness of the final fabric. Such control of porosity distribution leads to highly efficient and economical fabrics useful for oil and gas filtration, and filtration/fractionation of biological materials.
