Disclosed is a curly fiber having a fiber centroid and comprising a first region having a first centroid and a second region wherein the first region comprises an ethylene/alpha olefin interpolymer composition in an amount of at least 75 weight percent based on total weight of the first region and wherein the ethylene/alpha olefin interpolymer composition is characterized by a low temperature peak and a high temperature peak on an elution profile via improved comonomer composition distribution (ICCD) procedure, and a full width at half maximum of the high temperature peak is less than 6.0° C. and the second region is a material comprising a polymer which is different from the ethylene/alpha-olefin interpolymer of the first region and wherein the regions are arranged such that at least one of the first centroid and the second centroid is not the same as the fiber centroid.

Methods and computer-readable mediums are provide that, in some embodiments maximize bending of an actuator and, in other embodiments, minimize bending of the actuator. For example, in one embodiment, a method is provided that acquires a first ratio of a modulus of inertia for a first component to a Young's Modulus for the first component. The method also acquires a second ratio of a modulus of inertia for a second component to a Young's Modulus for the second component. Thereafter, the method provides an actuator (which includes the first component and second component). The actuator has a cross-sectional shape such that the first ratio substantially equal to said second ratio. In various embodiments of the invention, the actuator is spun fibers formed into batting and used as insulation, or may form an active element of a thermostat.

A method of creating a soft and lofty continuous fiber nonwoven web is provided. The method includes providing two molten polymer components having different melting temperatures to a spinneret defining a plurality of orifices, and flowing a fluid intermediate the spinneret and a moving porous member. The moving porous member is positioned below the spinneret. The method includes using the fluid to draw or push the two molten polymer components, in a direction that is toward the moving porous member, through at least some of the plurality of orifices to form a plurality of individual bi-component continuous fiber strands. The method includes depositing the continuous fiber strands on the moving porous member at a first location to create an intermediate continuous fiber nonwoven web, and removing and/or diverting some of the fluid proximate to the first location to maintain loft and softness in the deposited intermediate continuous fiber nonwoven web.

The invention relates to multi-component shape memory threads, fibers, tubes, or tapes, which includes at least two shape-memory polymeric (SMP-N) components. Each of the at least two SMP-N components is of at least 1% of the total weight, and N is a positive integer starting from 1, and the SMP-N components have a selectively engineered shape recovery temperature (T.sub.r) between approximately 0° C. to 130° C. Also, when T.sub.rN and T.sub.rN+1 are higher than room temperature, the threads, fibers, tubes, or tapes are configured to assume a substantially helical configuration upon heating to above T.sub.rN and lower than T.sub.rN+1 by a stimulus when an elongation of the threads, fibers, tubes, or tapes is approximately 30% to approximately 300%, and having a coil diameter from 0.5 to 10 mm and a number of the turns per cm from 5 to 30.

A bimorph meta fiber is formed through spinning of two antagonistic polymer melts, one of which contains pre-compounded optical nanostructures, into an eccentric sheath-core configuration or a side-by-side key-lock configuration. The bimorph meta fiber is capable of an adaptive regulation of the infrared radiation responsive to humidity level deviation from a comfort zone or perspiration level of the wearer of the garment fabricated from the meta fibers. The bimorph meta fibers are humidity/heat trained to attain dynamical environmentally responsive behavior to maintain the humidity/thermal comfort zone at various the humidity level fluctuations.

A method of manufacturing an elastic fabric including a latent crimped yarn according to an embodiment includes forming a raw fabric by knitting the latent crimped yarn and a polyester yarn, reducing the raw fabric, removing oil from the raw fabric, removing wrinkles of the raw fabric, followed by drying, dyeing the raw fabric, and removing wrinkles of the raw fabric, followed by drying to form the elastic fabric. The method can manufacture a highly elastic fabric having excellent recovery and color fastness to washing.

A method of manufacturing an elastic fabric including a latent crimped yarn according to an embodiment includes forming a raw fabric by knitting the latent crimped yarn and a polyester yarn, reducing the raw fabric, removing oil from the raw fabric, removing wrinkles of the raw fabric, followed by drying, dyeing the raw fabric, and removing wrinkles of the raw fabric, followed by drying to form the elastic fabric. The method can manufacture a highly elastic fabric having excellent recovery and color fastness to washing.

A method is disclosed including causing a preform 1 that is softened to pass from an inner side of a container-shaped member 10 having a shape of a container having a through hole 12 at a bottom thereof through the through hole 12. The preform 1 includes a resin. At least an inner surface 10i of the container-shaped member 10 is formed of a material including glass, a heat-resistant resin, or aluminum as a main component. In one embodiment of the present invention, the preform 1 is heated while the preform 1 and a metallic member 20 in which the container-shaped member 10 is disposed are not in direct contact with each other, and the preform 1 softened thereby is caused to pass through the through hole 12 and then through a tubular portion 26 of the metallic member 20 to shape the preform 1 into a fibrous shape.

The present invention discloses a method for preparing a PET/PTT parallel complex filament with high self-crimpiness, wherein PET and PTT are sliced, dried and crystallized, and then fused separately and subjected to extrusion molding through a parallel-type spinneret plate; oil is applied after cooling; then level 1-3 drafting and heat setting treatment are adopted; and during drafting, a total drafting rate is controlled to be 3 to 3.5, wherein the level-1 drafting rate is 2.8 to 3.0 at a temperature controlled to be 75 to 80° C., according to the method for preparing the PET/PTT parallel complex filament with high self-crimpiness, methods like multi-level drafting for increasing the drafting rate are adopted, and the effects of improving the fiber strength, moderately lowering the breaking elongation, and greatly improving the self-crimpiness are achieved.

The present invention discloses a method for preparing a PET/PTT parallel complex filament with high self-crimpiness, wherein PET and PTT are sliced, dried and crystallized, and then fused separately and subjected to extrusion molding through a parallel-type spinneret plate; oil is applied after cooling; then level 1-3 drafting and heat setting treatment are adopted; and during drafting, a total drafting rate is controlled to be 3 to 3.5, wherein the level-1 drafting rate is 2.8 to 3.0 at a temperature controlled to be 75 to 80° C., according to the method for preparing the PET/PTT parallel complex filament with high self-crimpiness, methods like multi-level drafting for increasing the drafting rate are adopted, and the effects of improving the fiber strength, moderately lowering the breaking elongation, and greatly improving the self-crimpiness are achieved.