Fall 2024 Industrial Advisory Board Meeting Recap

The Nonwovens Institute’s (NWI’s) Fall 2024 Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) meeting has adjourned following two spirited days of activity aimed at advancing the NWI consortium’s fundamental nonwovens research portfolio.

“NWI is unique in that it is the world’s first and only accredited academic program for the interdisciplinary study of engineered fabrics,” said Behnam Pourdeyhimi, Ph.D., executive director of the institute. “NWI engages industry, government and academia to enable next-generation nonwoven solutions to mission-critical challenges, and the IAB is our semi-annual meeting where the consortium’s stakeholders join together to consider the status, findings and future direction of the institute’s research projects.”

NWI Student Awards

Presented Nov. 5-6 at the Hunt Library on the Centennial Campus of North Carolina State University, the IAB kicked off with the issuing of NWI student awards, based on NWI member voting, for outstanding work presented at the Spring 2024 IAB meeting. Best Presentation was awarded to Anicah Smith O’Brien, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, NC State, for her project presentation, “Effect of Surface Coatings on Biodegradability and Functional Properties of Model Pure and Blended Biopolymer Substrates.” Best Technical was awarded to Nishant Bhatta, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, NC State, for his project presentation, “Flow-less Coalescence Filtration Experiment: A Novel Approach to Study Instantaneous Saturation in Nonwovens.” And Best Overall was awarded to Anastasia Timofeeva, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, NC State, for her project presentation, “Dynamic, In-situ Characterization of Failure Modes in Fiber Spinning.”

Following the presentation of each award, the winning students were highlighted via a series of video shorts, providing attendees an up-close and personal look at the researchers and the evolution of their NWI research projects.

Research Project Presentations and Review

After the awards program, the IAB meeting entered into the presentation of 19 nonwovens research projects led by NWI graduate student researchers who are pursuing doctoral degrees in fields relevant to nonwovens.

Projects focused on NWI’s research thrust areas of Engineered Structures, Materials, Extrusion, Modeling and Sustainability. These research categories are identified and managed through a collaboration between NWI, participating faculty and the institute’s Strategic Scientific Advisory Board (SSAB), which is led by representatives from NWI member companies.

Upon completion of the research presentations, NWI member companies participated in the Research Project Review segment of the meeting, where the findings of each project were considered and progress was evaluated. The feedback generated here provided valuable industry perspective to inform next steps for each project. Also, this segment of the meeting finalized voting to determine winners of the NWI student awards for Best Technical, Best Presentation and Best Overall, which will be issued at the next IAB meeting (May 13-14, 2025).

Poster Sessions

The IAB meeting also featured posters presented by students and faculty who currently have and/or are pursuing projects related to nonwovens. The student poster session featured more than 25 posters and offered attendees the opportunity to interact with the researchers who are currently engaged on NWI projects.

The Faculty Poster Showcase Networking Reception was a new addition to the IAB meeting, where current/prospective NWI principal investigators (PIs) were able to showcase their research focus areas among the industry participants at the IAB. The session featured 13 posters, providing a vehicle for faculty members to highlight their work and make connections to generate funding and sponsorship for future NWI research projects.

Member Presentations

NWI also welcomed several new members during the IAB, with introductory presentations by Math2Market GmbH and Solventum.

Math2Market presented a talk highlighting the capabilities of its GeoDict software for analyzing and designing the microstructure of porous media and composite materials. Math2Market’s technology is capable of completely digitizing the development of new nonwovens and other materials.

To learn more about Math2Market and GeoDict, please visit https://www.math2market.com/.

Solventum’s talk focused on its material solutions for medical, surgical, dental, health information systems, and purification and filtration. Rooted in more than 70 years of innovation, Solventum is focused on enabling better, smarter, safer healthcare solutions to improve lives.

To learn more about Solventum, please visit https://www.solventum.com/.

NWI Lab Tour

A tour of NWI’s state-of-the-art nonwoven fabrication and testing labs showcased both lab-scale and large pilot-scale systems, as well as NWI’s extensive analytical and filtration testing facilities. Labs visited during the tour included the institute’s:

• Meltblown Lab, featuring a 1.2-meter wide Reifenhäuser Reicofil pilot line with recently updated software and control systems. This stand-alone machine provides the ability to test a wide range of polymers, including polyolefins, polyamides, polyesters, elastomers, PLA and many others. The line also includes in-line electrostatic charging (corona) and ultrasonic bonding capability.
• Spunbond and Hydroentangling Lab, featuring a Reicofil spunbond line with Hills bico or mono filament die packs, two unwinds, an Andritz thermobonding calender, two Andritz Perfojet hydroentanglement units, a kiss roll, a through-air dryer, and a high-speed A.Celli winder and slitter.
• Staple Fiber Lab, which is equipped with Trützschler feeding equipment and extensive opening systems that allow for blending of various types of fibers and composite formations. The lab is outfitted with two separate feeding systems from the opening equipment, which can be used independently to feed the card or a Scanfeed system for high-loft substrates, and 1-meter wide Trützschler High-Speed Nonwoven EWK 413 Card, which processes fibers from 0.9 to 20 denier with basis weights ranging from 20 to 100 g/m² direct lay. An Andritz Profile 415-FD Crosslapper provides automatic batt width adjustment, automatic overlap control and adjustment, and full control over the number of layers, with automatic computation of the necessary delivery speed on the floor apron.
• Fiber and Polymer Science Lab, featuring Instron^® rheology equipment (MVR and capillary rheometer), a Hills homo-component multifilament research line, Biax 15” meltblowing labline, fiber forming Brabender^® extrusion line (meltblowing), a Hills LBS-300 bi-component line (multifilament, monofilament, spunbond aspirator and meltblowing), and a Leistritz ZSE-18HPe twin-screw compounding extruder.
• Filtration Testing Lab, featuring testing services for facemasks and respirators, along with filter media for automotive, HEPA and HVAC applications, among others. Importantly, NWI’s Filtration Testing Lab is outfitted with equipment to perform ASTM F2299 testing for the measurement of Particle Filtration Efficiency (PFE) at 0.1 microns.

Networking Reception

The IAB culminated with the meeting’s premier networking reception, where attendees enjoyed food, drink and conversation with their industry peers, NWI staff, student researchers and supporting faculty. It was a fitting way to unwind after a succesful meeting amid wonderful views of the Raleigh skyline from the Terrace in the Carol Johnson Poole Clubhouse on NC State’s Centennial Campus. The bacon-wrapped scallops were a huge hit!

The IAB will meet again May 13-14, 2025, on the Centennial Campus of NC State University. If you are a current NWI member, please save the date!

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