Bimodal Nanofiber Mats with Controlled Microstructures for Size-Sensitive Nanoparticle Filtration/Separation and Superhydrophobic Drag Reduction

该项目的研究目标是开发一种创新的纳米制造技术，以创造具有改进功能的新型多孔材料。这些材料将由聚合物纳米纤维层组成，双峰直径从50纳米到1000纳米不等。纤维直径和取向将受到控制，以增强特定材料的功能，并将使用先进的计算方法指导设计。这些纳米纤维材料的变形功能使其在以下应用中具有吸引力：舒适透气、尺寸敏感的口罩和呼吸器中的纳米颗粒过滤，以及高效工业和民用空气过滤器，以及低成本的超疏水自清洁表面。该项目将纳米纤维材料的实验性纳米制造与数值模拟相结合，以设计和优化结构参数，如纤维直径、每个组件的质量分数和纤维取向。这项研究的成功完成将导致在制造性能显著增强的新型多孔材料方面取得变革性的进展。特别是，这项研究的成果将创造新的纳米制造方法，可用于生产一种新型的工程纤维材料，阻力最小，即对流体流动的阻力最小，从而显著节省能源成本。该项目将包括代表不足的少数民族学生和当地高中生的参与。VCU将为机械和化学工程专业的学生开设一门新的技术选修课本科课程，名为《气雾剂与室内空气工程》。

The research objective of this project is to develop an innovative nano-manufacturing technique to create new porous materials with improved functionalities. These materials will consist of polymer nanofiber layers with bimodal diameters ranging from 50 to 1000 nanometers. The fiber diameters and orientation will be controlled to enhance specific material functionality and the design will be guided using advanced computational methods. The transformational functionality of these nanofibrous materials makes them attractive for applications such as nanoparticle filtration in comfortably-breathable, size-sensitive face masks and respirators, as well as high-efficiency industrial and residential air filters, and low-cost superhydrophobic self-cleaning surfaces. The project combines experimental nano-manufacturing of nanofiber materials and numerical simulations to design and optimize structural parameters such as fiber diameters, mass fraction of each component, and fiber orientations. Successful completion of this research will lead to transformational advances towards manufacturing new porous materials with significantly enhanced performance. In particular, outcomes of this research will create new nano-manufacturing methodologies that can be used to produce a new class of engineered fibrous materials with minimum resistance, i.e., pressure drop, against fluid flows, leading to significant energy cost savings. The project will include participation from under-represented minority students and local high school students. A new technical elective undergraduate course entitled "Aerosols and In-door Air Engineering" will be offered to Mechanical and Chemical Engineering students at VCU.