Modeling moisture diffusion through nano and micro fibrous materials

Prediction of effective diffusivity for nano and micro fibrous porous materials is very crucial in various areas such as fuel cells, tissue engineering, fiber reinforced composites, and functional clothing. In this study, a novel fractal model of effective diffusivity, as a function of porosity, fiber radius and fractal dimension, is derived to examine the disordered nature of pore structures and Knudsen effects in nano and micro fibrous media. To validate this model, we conducted an experiment of measuring moisture diffusion rate through nonwoven membranes made of electrospun nylon 6 nanofibers. The prediction of the new model is highly consistent with the experimental results.