An exterior trim part for a vehicle comprises a fibrous porous structural layer. The fibrous porous structural layer consists of staple fibers, only. At least 50%, preferably between 70% and 100%, of the staple fibers comprise a first polymer made of modified polyester, such as CoPET, with a melting temperature between 150 C. and 240 C., preferably between 190 C. and 240 C.

Embodiments of the present invention replace at least some of the flame resistant fibers traditionally used in the batting of a thermal liner (e.g., aramids) with thermally stable polyamide fibers (e.g., nylon fibers). The TPP performance of garments incorporating embodiments of thermal liners contemplated herein is comparable toif not improved overgarments formed with traditional thermal liners.

A coform material is provided including a nonwoven web containing a mixture of staple fibers and an absorbent material including pulp fibers. The staple fibers are present in an amount of from about 5 wt. % to about 50 wt. % and the pulp fibers are present in an amount of from about 50 wt. % to about 95 wt. %. The staple fibers have an average length of from about 5 mm to about 50 mm. The staple fibers and pulp fibers are thermally bonded or hydraulically entangled to form the nonwoven web. Methods and systems for producing coform materials are also provided.

Abrasive articles including a non-woven web of staple fibers that form a single layer that is free of any additional layers of non-woven webs of staple fibers. The abrasive articles contain abrasive particles bound to the non-woven web. The abrasive articles can be compressed abrasive articles that include a non-woven web of staple fibers, including blends of staple fibers having a first portion of fibers having a first linear density and a second portion of fibers having a second linear density.

The present invention relates to a thermal insulating structure including at least one baffle, to an article of wear and a sleeping bag including such a thermal insulating structure, and to a method for manufacturing such a thermal insulating structure. In some embodiments, the baffle includes a plurality of natural and/or synthetic down fibers and a plurality of low-melt fibers, wherein the low-melt fibers have been melted to the natural and/or synthetic down fibers by heating inside the baffle.

The invention provides an insulation material that includes exothermic fibers, heat capturing fibers capable of retaining heat, and synthetic fibers. The heat capturing fibers having a density of at least 1.17 g/cm.sup.3or 2.0 Dtex linear density. Also provided are articles comprising, and methods of making the inventive insulation material.

The present invention provides compositions comprising aligned fibers of electrospun PNIPAAm and poly (-caprolactone) (PCL) (denoted PNIPAAm/PCL fibers). The PNIPAAm/PCL compositions enable enhanced growth and detachment of intact anisotropic cell sheets. The compositions do not require chemical modification or resource-intensive techniques, thus saving time and expense, and have the potential to generate tissue-specific, aligned cell sheets for transplant studies.

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a highly heat-resistant sound absorbing and insulating material, more specifically to a method including a beating and mixing step, a web forming step, a web stacking step, a needle punching step, a binder impregnating step and a solvent recovering step. The highly heat-resistant sound absorbing and insulating material manufactured by the method according to the present invention may be installed on a location closest to the noise source of an engine or an exhaust system to reduce radiated noise from the engine or the exhaust system, thereby improving quietness inside a vehicle, and may be applied to a location adjacent to a metal part which is at a temperature of 200 C. or greater to exert heat-insulating function, thereby protecting nearby plastic and rubber parts.

A non-woven fabric that absorbs only a small amount of volatile low molecular weight compound, and that has good texture when used as a non-woven fabric that makes contact with human skin. This thermal bond non-woven fabric containing cyclic olefin resin includes at least: fibers (A) containing at least 50 mass % of a cyclic olefin resin (A1) having a glass transition temperature Tg.sub.A1 C.; and fibers (B) containing at least 10 mass % of either a cyclic olefin resin (B1) having a glass transition temperature Tg.sub.B1 C., or a crystalline thermoplastic resin (B2) having a melting point Mp.sub.B2 C.; the fibers (A) and the fibers (B) being heat-spliced together; wherein Tg.sub.A1>Tg.sub.B1 or Tg.sub.A1>Mp.sub.B2, and either the difference between the glass transition temperature Tg.sub.A1 C. and the glass transition temperature TgB1 C. or the difference between the glass transition temperature Tg.sub.A1 C. and the melting point Mp.sub.B2 C. exceeds 20 C.

Substantially compostable nonwoven fabrics comprising staple fibers made from natural cellulosic fibers optionally mixed with other natural, man-made or synthetic fibers are described. Also described are methods of preparing such nonwoven fabrics that can include the steps of at least one of needle punching and/or hydroentangling and optionally resin bonding and/or thermal bonding. The compostable, or substantially compostable nonwoven fabrics disclosed herein provide improved durability over conventional nonwoven fabrics.