Effect of interfiber bonding on the rupture of electrospun fibrous mats

Electrospun fibrous mats have a wide range of applications, and characterizing their mechanical behavior is an important task. In addition to the mechanical properties of the individual fibers, other factors can alter the overall mechanical behavior of the mat. In this study, we use computational and experimental methods to investigate the effect of interfiber bonding on the failure and rupture of typical fibrous mats. A non-linear finite element model of a mat is simulated with randomly distributed fibers with different porosities. The percentage of bonding between intersecting fibers is controlled by an auxiliary code. The results reveal that interfiber bonding increases the stiffness of the mat, and the toughness of the mat increases as well. Interestingly, a large percentage of interfiber bonding at a predefined porosity of a mat does not increase the elastic modulus of the mat, nor does it have considerable effects on the failure behavior. Moreover, the effect of interfiber bonding increases with a mat's porosity. The findings of this study could help tune the mechanical properties of fibrous mats used for different applications.