Knowledge Creation
The Nonwovens Institute (NWI) views education, research, and outreach as critical components of its mission. Pre-competitive research falls in the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 1-4 categories and is often titled “core” projects. These research activities engage our network of faculty and students and are a means by which we train the future leaders for our industry. Our graduates will be equipped with the knowledge and know-how required to succeed in the corporate environment, while the results of NWI research projects enable NWI member companies to innovate by finding solutions to some of our industry's grand challenges.
NWI’s research projects are only shared with current members of the NWI Consortium, and elements of these projects become public only after the student graduates.
Research topics are suggested by member companies – today, NWI has 5 research thrust areas (defined by our Strategic Scientific Advisory Board). These are:
- Materials and Materials Characterization
- what to use and how to analyze
- Polymer Processing and Extrusion
- how to make
- Engineered Structures
- what to make
- Micro and Macro Modeling
- structure-property-process modeling
- Sustainability
- how to recycle; what to use as an alternative source
Core projects are not designed to result in IP, and that is no accident. We focus on pre-competitive science and engineering, not product development, as part of our shared research activities. In our history from 1991, we have no more than 4 patents that have come about from our core research. This is a key element in our success – we are fulfilling our mission of knowledge generation, training future leaders for the industry and beyond in a shared environment without creating any unnecessary conflicts and without being focused merely on IP generation, spin-offs and the like. This model works – our network of competitors and the entire supply chain are at the table, and the research is focused on solving grand challenges that the industry as a whole faces. The IP will ultimately arise from how one would use the information generated from these research activities.
NWI research projects typically last 3 to 4 years, and students will be pursuing a Ph.D. during the project. NWI members participate as mentors/advisors on each project. NWI covers all expenses for the projects from its State allocation, membership dues and other discretionary funds. The results are shared with all members. IP is governed by the NWI Bylaws.
Our core programs are strongly focused on knowledge creation only and that has become the hallmark of how we manage our shared environment – all of our members contribute to the agenda, the discussions, the identification and, ultimately, the selection and stewardship of our core research agenda. This model works in a shared environment that has to be relevant but non-competitive and only if we achieve operational excellence in:
- Transparent communications
- Collaborative environment
If you have questions about NWI or our service offering, please contact us at nonwovens@ncsu.edu.
Recently Completed Projects:
| Fundamentals of Thermal Point Bonding in Nonwovens |
| A Materials Data Management System for Nonwovens |
| Modeling of Mechanical Properties of Point-Bonded Fiberwebs |
| Studies on Uniformity of Fiberweb Basis Weight and Structure |
| Study of Forces Experienced by Individual Needles during Needlepunching |
| Study of Needlepunching Process and Products |
| Photometric Monitoring of Carding Element Loading |
| Thermally Bonded Cellulosic Nonwovens – II |
| Study of Needlepunch Products and Processes |
| Micromechanics of Three-dimensional Fiberweb Nonwovens : Constitutive Equations |
| Bond Strength and its Measurement in Nonwoven Fabrics |
| Tomographic Approaches to Nonwovens Structure Definition |
| Orientation Measurements in Fibrous Assemblies Using Image Analysis |
| Application of FAST System in Nonwovens |
| Chemomechanical Softening of Nonwovens |
| Heat Barrier Properties of Nonwoven Fabrics |
| Study of Carding Dynamics |
| The effect of Bonding Parameters on the Properties of Thermal Point Bonded Polypropylene |
| Constitutive Modeling of Spun Bonded Nonwovens |
| CIM in Nonwovens Manufacturing: Phase I. Application to Wet-Lay Web Forming Step |
| Tomography and Nonwovens |
| Development of Thermal Insulation for Textile Wet Processing Equipment Using Needlepunched Nonwoven Fabrics |
| Hydroentangling Investigations Using Bleached and Unbleached Cotton Cardwebs |
| Design and Characterization of Geotextiles for High Performance Applications |
| Shear Precipitated Chitosan Powders, Fibrids, and Fibrid Papers |
| Processing of Cotton and Cotton/Pulp Blends for Wet-laid Nonwovens using Novel Dispersion Technologies |
| Evaluation of a One-Bath Process for Imparting Repellency and Antimicrobial Activity to Nonwoven Surgical Gown and Patient Drape Fabrics |
| Probabilistic and Statistical Modeling for Geometric Structure of Nonwoven Fabrics |
| Hydroentangling Investigations Using Bleached and Unbleached Cotton Card Webs |
| Investigation of Thermal Bonding of Nonwoven Fiberwebs using IR Bonding |
| Simulation and Image Processing of Nonwoven Fabrics |
| Foamed Latex Bonding of Spunlace to Improve its Physical Properties |
| Carding Dynamics: The Assessment of Cross Machine Uniformity of Carded Webs (currently available members only) |
| Formation of Fiberweb from Staple Microfibers |
| Fundamentals of Fiber Bonding in Thermally Point bonded Nonwovens |
| Biaxial Tensile Testing of Nonwoven Textile Fabrics (on file NCRC) |
| Formation of 3D Meltblown Structures using Robotic Control of Fiber Deposition |
| Prediction of Performance in Thermally Point Bonded Nonwovens |
| The Effect of Processing Parameters on Mechanical Properties of Thermally Point Bonded PolyPropylene Nonwovens |
| Role of Fiber Morphology in Thermal Bonding |
| Stress and Structure Distribution in Thermally Point Bonded Nonwovens |
| Fiber Crimp and Crimp Stability in Nonwoven Fabric Processes |
| Fundamentals of Fiber in Water Dispersion |
| Combination of Hydroentanglement and Foam Bonding Technologies for Wood Pulp and Polyester Fibers in Wet Lay Nonwoven Fabrics |
| The Role of Fiber Finish in the Conversion of Fiber to Nonwovens |
| Fundamentals of Spin Finish on Fibers |
| The Impact of Input Energy, Fiber Properties, and Forming Wire on the Performance and Aesthetics of Hydroentangled Fabrics |
| Influence of Fiber Types on Fiberweb Properties in High Speed Carding |
| Intelligent Nonwovens: Engineered Stimuli-Sensitive Absorbent Properties |
| In Plane Liquid Distribution in Nonwovens |
| The manufacturing of wet-laid hydroentangled glass fiber composites for industrial applications |
| Texture Classification in Hydroentangled Nonwovens |
| 3D SpaceNetâ Structures from Nonwovens **** |
| Modeling Performance in Hydroentangled and Needled Nonwovens |
| Modeling Performance in Hydroentangled and Needled Nonwovens |
| The role of orifice design in hydroentanglement |
| Surgical Face Masks Barrier Effectiveness: Influence of Construction and Finish |
| Biopolishing Cellulosic Nonwovens |
| An Investigation of the Role of Cavitation on the Degradation of the Orifice Shape and Intact Length of Hydroentangling Water Jets |
| Nanofiber Webs via Spunbonding and Meltblowing |
| Modeling of Air Flow and Heat Transfer in the Through-Air Bonding Process |
| Incorporating Carbon Nano Tubes into Fibers |
| Fundamentals of Melt-Spinning/Blowing Polymers Fabricated and/or Functionalized from Their Inclusion Compounds with Cyclodextrins |
| Flexible, Multi-layered Thermal Barrier Material |
| Inflluence of Material Variables in Thermal Bonding of Nonwovens |
| Method for Measuring Static Potential on Moving Fabrics |
| Simulating Liquid Flow Inside Nonwovens |
| Enzymatic Treatment of Cellulosic Fabrics |
| Modeling of the Hydroentanglement Process |
| Surface Modification of Fibers & Nonwovens with Melt Additives |
| Filtration by Micro and Nano fiber Filters: Simulation and Experiments |
| Structure-Process-Property Relationships in Nonwovens Made from Multi-Block Elastomers |
| Development of Interfacial Adhesion during Thermal Bonding of Nonwovens |
| Structure & Properties of Micro & Nano fibers |
| Printing Conductive Inks on Nonwovens |
| Acoustical Absorptive Properties of Nonwovens |
| Barrier Nonwoven fabrics with High Moisture Vapor Transfer Rate |
| Hollow fiber Nonwoven Structures with Interconnected Pore Configuration |
| Functional Nanofibers from Associative Polymers Using Electrospinning |
| On the Aerodynamics of Meltblowing Process: Modeling & Experimental Verification |
| The Influence of Staple Fiber Preparatory Equipment on Web Quality |
| Spreading and Deposition of Liquid Films and Drops in Fibrous Structures |
| Effect of Jet Strip Variables and Forming Wire on Fabric Quality |
| Modeling Calendered Fabrics and Their Permeability |
| Fundamentals of Fiber Formation in the Spun Bond Process |
| Consumer Acceptance of Nonwovens in Apparel & Accessories |
| Fluid Absorption Properties of Nonwoven Fabrics: Analysis of Real Geometries via DVI |
| Surface Modification with Fluorochemical Melt Additives |
| Durable, Electric Charge Storage or Dissipation in Nonwovens via Surface Modification |
| High Throughput of Staple Nanofibers via Assisted Electrospinnning |
| Mechanistic Understanding and Optimization of Thermal Bonding for Bicomponent Polymer Fibers |
| Electrospun Nanofibers of Enzymatically-modified Polysaccharide for Drug Delivery and Wound Healing |
| Abrasion Testing of Nonwovens |
| Flame Retardency of Nonwovens |
| Modeling Mechanical Properties of Nonwovens |
| Electrospun fibers for Drug Delivery |
| Modeling Flammability |
| High Performance Meltblown Nonwovens |
| The Generation and Stability of Organic Films on Polyolefin Surfaces |
| Simulating Multi-component Aerosol Filters via Geometrical Modeling and Volumetric Imaging |
| Mechanical properties of thermally bonded bicomponent fiber nonwovens: experimental study and micromechanics |
| Nonwovens Containing Novel Polymer Fillers |
| Enhanced Electrostatic Properties and Hydroentangling Efficiency via Atmospheric Plasma Pretreatment |
| Challenges in Atmospheric-Plasma Aided Grafting of Biocidal Agents to Nonwovens |
| Development of Nanoclay Modified Fibers and Nonwovens |
| Surface Engineering of Nonwoven Materials using Atomic Layer Deposition and Self-Assembled Nanolayers |
| Functional Coatings Based on Adsorption-Denaturation of Proteins |
| Electrospinning Yarn Formation and Coating |
| Polymer Based Drug Delivery Systems |
| Investigating the Bonding/Fiber-fracturing performance of Hydroentangling |
| High Throughput Melt Electrospinning of Nanofibers using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide |
| A study of how the microstructure of spunbond bicomponent filaments affects the properties of the fiber |
| Durable Nanolayer Graft Polymerization of functional Finishes Using Plasma |
| Electrostatic charged polymer filter media with melt additives |
| Investigating Polymer Interface and its Influence in Thermoplastic Bicomponent Structures for Nonwoven Composites |
| Mixed Media |
| Structure Property Process Relationships for Meltblowing |
| Structure Property Process Relationships for Meltblowing |
| Fabrication and Modeling of Conductive Nonwovens |
| Analysis of Basis Weight Uniformity of Micro and Nanofiber Nonwovens |
| Surface Modification of Nonwovens for bioseparations by Grafting Acrylate Derivatives |
| Hybrid Composite Liquid Filters |
| Functional Electrospun Nanofibers in the Development of Biocatalysts |
| Photovoltaic Polymer and Ceramic Nanocomposite Materials |
| Hybrid Woven/Nonwoven Composite for Protection |
| Transport of Small Molecules through Fibrous Materials |
| Melt-Spun Bi/Tricomponent fibers Exhibiting Shape Memory: A Mesoscale to Macroscale Experimental and Theoretical Study |
| Controlled Release Systems using Core-Sheath Nanofibers for Wound Healing and Tissue Engineering Applications |
| Deformation and Failure Mechanisms of Low-Density Nonwovens |
| Fundamental Study of Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Fibers in Filtration Media and Their Effect on Droplet Impact, Coalescence, and Penetration |
| Ion Exchanger Formation via Sulfonated Block Copolymer and Surface Modified Bicomponent Fibers |
| Structures of Needlepunch Fabrics and Needling Mechanism |
| Inorganic/Organic Hybrid Processes for Nonwovens |
| Multifunctional Sustainable Nonwovens |
| Fluid Absorption and Release of Nonwovens and their Response to Compression |
| Interconnected Micropores in Hollow Nonwoven Fibers |
| Novel Block Ionomer Fiber Coatings for Controlled Pore Size in Water Filtration |
| A Systematic Investigation of the Factors that Trigger Thermal Decomposition During the Processing of Industrially-Relevant Polymers |
| Structure-Property Relationships of Nonwovens Filled with Calcium Carbonate |
| Cellulose Nanocrystals as Additive and Reinforcing Agent in Melt-spinning of Polyethylene and Polypropylene |
| Development of anti-biofouling coatings on PET nonwovens for specific attachment of biological antibodies and for removal of heavy metals and toxins from waters |
| PVDF Multifunctional Microfiber Spunbond Nonwovens |
| PVDF Multifunctional Microfiber Spunbond Nonwovens |
| Micro- and Macro-Scale Modeling of Filter Aging: Effects of Particle Deposition on Filter Performance |
| Spinning Fibers below 50 nm |
| Behavior and Limitations of Novel Filler Loading in Polymeric Materials |
| New Nonwovens as Substrate for Leather |
| Conductive Nonwovens |
| Modeling of Meltblowing Processing Conditions |
| The First Predictive Theory to Estimate the Thickness and Porosity of Nanofiber Nonwoven Mats |
| Materials for Sensing and Analysis of Nonwoven Structures |
| Parametric Modeling of Compression Performance of Nonwovens |
| Surface Modification Material Platform via Coating Technology |
| Cold-Draw Shape-Memory Bi/Tricomponent Fibers: Elucidating the Polymer/Polymer Interface and Adding Sensory Functionality |
| Durable, Self-extinguishing, and Halogen-free Flame Retardants for Nonwovens |
| Permeability, Pore Size and Pore Volume in Nonwovens |
| Patent Intelligence for Nonwoven Technology Forecasting |
| Structure-Process-Property Relationship of Additive Loaded SpunBlown Nonwovens |
| Investigation of Bio-polymers and Their Associated Limitations/Applications |
| Conductive Materials Integration on Nonwovens |
| Heat Transfer During the Thermoplastic Nonwoven Molding Process |
| Superhydrophilic-Superoleophobic Membranes for Oil-Water Separation |
| Observation of Fiber-Fluid Hygrophobic Interactions with Liquid Cell TEM |
| Polymer-Polymer Interface |
| Quantifying the Major Factors Determining the Relationships between Fabric Properties, Forming Wire Design, Fiber Properties, and Process Conditions for the Meltblown and Spunbond Processes |
| Charging Mechanism for Enhanced Electret |
| Particle Doped Fibers Through Solution Spinning |
| Barrier Materials with high Moisture Vapor Permeability |
| High performance Nonwovens |
| High Surface Area Structures For Liquid Filtration |
| Permeability of Nonwoven Fabrics |
| Digital Printing & Finishing of Polyolefin Nonwovens |
| Investigation of Reactive Interphase to Strengthen Nanotube Composite Fibers |
| Techniques for Strengthening Polymer-Lignin Composite Fibers |
| Deactivation of Chemical Threat Agents by Calcium Carbonate Composite Membranes |
| Nanofibrous Membranes for Toxin Capture and Neutralization |
| Foam forming with complex synthetic fibers in the wetlay process |
| Engineering Interfaces between Graphene Oxide and Industrially-relevant Polymers for Conductive Composites |
| Biaxial Spin-Pack Design for Controlled Melt-Blowing Part II: Experimental study of Biax meltblown process and web structures |
| Tailored Surface Modification of Nonwovens using Fluorochemical Melt Additives |
| Nonwoven Nanodiamond-Polymer Nanofibers and Coatings |
| Capillarity of Nonwovens with Heterogeneous Wettabilities: Theory vs. Experiment |
If you have questions about NWI or our service offering, please contact us at nonwovens@ncsu.edu.