An optical fiber bundle structure includes: plural optical fiber core wires; a crossing preventing member; and a grasping member. Further, the crossing preventing member has slits and the widths of the slits positioned at the respective sides are each equal to or larger than a difference between: a length of one side of a polygon circumscribing the plural optical fiber core wires at a hindmost end portion of the slits at the trailing end; and a length of one side of a polygon circumscribing the plural optical fiber core wires at the leading end.

Fibers sized with a coating of amorphous polyetherketoneketone are useful in the preparation of reinforced polymers having improved properties, wherein the amorphous polyetherketoneketone can improve the compatibility of the fibers with the polymeric matrix.

Fibers sized with a coating of amorphous polyetherketoneketone are useful in the preparation of reinforced polymers having improved properties, wherein the amorphous polyetherketoneketone can improve the compatibility of the fibers with the polymeric matrix.

A fiber sizing agent includes: a vinyl ester resin (A) having an alkoxy polyoxyalkylene structure and a urethane bond; and an aqueous medium. The fiber sizing agent has excellent fiber sizing properties for various fibers such as glass fibers and carbon fibers. A molded article obtained from a molding material including the fiber sizing agent is excellent in various physical properties such as bending strength, compressive strength, and interlaminar shear strength, and thus can be used, for example, for an automobile member, an aircraft member, a windmill member, and an industrial member.

Provided are a molded article that contains a polyarylene sulfide (PAS) resin and a glass fiber and allows a decrease in mechanical strength to be suppressed even in a hot water environment and under acidic conditions, a PAS resin composition capable of providing such a molded article, and methods for producing the same. More specifically, provided are a PAS resin composition including, per 100 parts by mass of a PAS resin, 10 to 100 parts by mass of a glass fiber having, in the glass fiber, a ZrO.sub.2 content of 16 mass % or more, a TiO.sub.2 content of 5 to 10 mass % or less, and a CaO content of 0.1 to 5 mass %, and 0.01 to 10 parts by mass of a silane coupling agent (C) blended as essential components; a molded article; and methods for producing the same.

A method of making a glass mat includes providing an assembly of glass fibers, applying a binder composition to the assembly of glass fibers, wherein the binder includes an organic resin, and curing the binder composition while dimensionally constraining the assembly of glass fibers. Dimensional constraining includes directly contacting a first major surface and a second major surface of the assembly of glass fibers between two substantially parallel surfaces. Further provided is a glass mat that includes an assembly of glass fibers, wherein the assembly of glass fibers are substantially randomly oriented with a tensile anisotropy of less than about 6 in any two directions. The glass mat has a decreased surface roughness and a decreased caliper compared to an equivalent glass mat having an assembly of naturally packed glass fibers with an equivalent fiber diameter size.

A method of making a glass mat includes providing an assembly of glass fibers, applying a binder composition to the assembly of glass fibers, wherein the binder includes an organic resin, and curing the binder composition while dimensionally constraining the assembly of glass fibers. Dimensional constraining includes directly contacting a first major surface and a second major surface of the assembly of glass fibers between two substantially parallel surfaces. Further provided is a glass mat that includes an assembly of glass fibers, wherein the assembly of glass fibers are substantially randomly oriented with a tensile anisotropy of less than about 6 in any two directions. The glass mat has a decreased surface roughness and a decreased caliper compared to an equivalent glass mat having an assembly of naturally packed glass fibers with an equivalent fiber diameter size.

A mineral wool insulating product which comprises a layer, notably a continuous layer, of mixed mineral wool fibres, the mixed mineral wool fibres comprising a binder, first mineral wool fibres and second mineral wool fibres, the first mineral wool fibres and the second mineral wool fibres have a difference of softening point.

The present invention relates to a process for producing insulating products based on mineral fibers, in particular on mineral wool, comprising providing a first binder composition containing (a) from 50% to 85% by weight of water, preferably from 70 to 82% of water (b) from 10% to 45% by weight, preferably 15 to 35% by weight of a saccharide component containing sucrose, (c) from 3% to 15% by weight, preferably from 5 to 12% by weight of one or more ammonium salts or primary amine salts of an acid, preparing a second binder composition comprising the dilution of the first aqueous binder composition with water to a solids content of between 3 and 7% by weight, applying the second binder composition to mineral fibers, forming an assembly of mineral fibers coated with the second binder composition, and heating the assembly of coated mineral fibers so as to form an assembly of mineral fibers bound by an insoluble binder,
said process being characterized in that the first aqueous binder composition has a pH of less than 5.5, in that the ammonium salt or primary amine salt is a salt of strong acid or a salt of an acid having a pKa of less than or equal to 2.2, and in that the first and second binder compositions are devoid of salts of weak acids having at least a pKa of between 2.5 and 6.9.

The present invention relates to a process for producing insulating products based on mineral fibers, in particular on mineral wool, comprising providing a first binder composition containing (a) from 50% to 85% by weight of water, preferably from 70 to 82% of water (b) from 10% to 45% by weight, preferably 15 to 35% by weight of a saccharide component containing sucrose, (c) from 3% to 15% by weight, preferably from 5 to 12% by weight of one or more ammonium salts or primary amine salts of an acid, preparing a second binder composition comprising the dilution of the first aqueous binder composition with water to a solids content of between 3 and 7% by weight, applying the second binder composition to mineral fibers, forming an assembly of mineral fibers coated with the second binder composition, and heating the assembly of coated mineral fibers so as to form an assembly of mineral fibers bound by an insoluble binder,
said process being characterized in that the first aqueous binder composition has a pH of less than 5.5, in that the ammonium salt or primary amine salt is a salt of strong acid or a salt of an acid having a pKa of less than or equal to 2.2, and in that the first and second binder compositions are devoid of salts of weak acids having at least a pKa of between 2.5 and 6.9.