A composite foam article is disclosed herein. The composite foam article comprises a polyurethane foam core presenting a first surface and a second surface facing opposite the first surface. A first skin is disposed on the first surface and a second skin is disposed on the second surface. The polyurethane foam core has a density of 15-80 kg/m.sup.3. The first and second skins comprise a plurality of fibers and a polymeric binder. The composite foam article has a weight per unit area of 500-1000 g/m.sup.2 and a strength of greater than 17 N at a post-compression thickness of greater than 2 mm when tested in according with SAE J949 at 23° C.

There is provided a reinforcing carbon fiber bundle of the present invention is a reinforcing carbon fiber bundle with a sizing agent adhered to surfaces of carbon fibers, and characterized in that the sizing agent is constituted by at least two components, a first component does not melt at 150° C., and a second component in flowable at 150° C., and the reinforcing carbon fiber bundle is improved in impregnation property and openability and is excellent in workability and optimum for a composite.

A oil gel composition, consisting essentially of: 65-80 wt. % of a mineral oil, 15-25 wt. % of a hydrogenated styrenic block copolymer (HSBC), 1 to 15 wt. % of glass spheres having an average particle size of at least 15 microns, 1 at least 50 wt. % of a plasticizer selected from mineral oil, a paraffinic oil, an oil-enriched in paraffin, and mixtures thereof, and 0.25-5 wt. % of a tack reducing component selected from the group of steric acid, metal stearates, long chain fatty acids, fatty acid salts, fatty acid esters, amide waxes, ethylene-bis-stearamides, erucamide, polyester modified siloxanes, and mixtures thereof. The oil gel composition has an average peel strength of less than 0.3 lbf/in measured according to ASTM D 1876. Articles formed from the oil gel composition are characterized as being tack-free.

A powdery liquid-crystal resin for a press-molded article is disclosed having a bulk density of more than 0.05 g/cm.sup.3 and 0.5 g/cm.sup.3 or less. The powdery liquid-crystal resin preferably has a particle diameter distribution width as defined by JIS Z8825: 2013 of 3.0 or more and 12 or less. The powdery liquid-crystal resin preferably has an average particle diameter of 10 μm or more and 300 μm or less. The degree of crystallinity of the powdery liquid-crystal resin is preferably 20% or more and 70% or less.

A method for forming a thermoplastic body having regions with varied material composition and/or porosity. Powder blends comprising a thermoplastic polymer, a sacrificial porogen and an inorganic reinforcement or filler are molded to form complementary parts with closely toleranced mating surfaces. The parts are formed discretely, assembled and compression molded to provide a unitary article that is free from discernible boundaries between the assembled parts. Each part in the assembly has differences in composition and/or porosity, and the assembly has accurate physical features throughout the sections of the formed article, without distortion and nonuniformities caused by variable compaction and densification rates in methods that involve compression molding powder blends in a single step.

A method for manufacturing an artificial elastic implant for restorative and reconstructive surgery includes two casting steps performed in a casting mold. The mold has at least a cover that is optically and UV transparent. In a first step, a first layer of a first photo-curable material or of a second photo-curable material is cast while forming a meniscus. Using one of two photo masks, the mold is irradiated with UV light to cure the first layer. In a second step, a second layer of either the first or the second photo-curable material is cast onto the cured first layer while forming a meniscus. After irradiating the mold again with ultraviolet light, unhardened photo-curable material is removed from the product by dissolving in a suitable solvent. After additionally irradiating the product with UV light, the product is soaked, separated from the mold, placed in isopropyl alcohol and then vacuum dried.

Disclosed are methods for utilizing reclaimed carpet materials in the manufacture of high density composites. Also disclosed are products manufactured by the disclosed methods.

PLA polymers that can be expanded into microporous articles having a node and fibril microstructure are provided. The fibrils contain PLA polymer chains oriented with the fibril axis. Additionally, the PLA polymers have an inherent viscosity greater than about 3.8 dL/g and a calculated molecular weight greater than about 150,000 g/mol. The PLA polymer article may be formed by bulk polymerization where the PLA bulk polymer is made into a preform that is subsequently expanded at temperatures above the glass transition temperature and below the melting point of the PLA polymer. In an alternate embodiment, a PLA polymer powder is lubricated, the lubricated polymer is subjected to pressure and compression to form a preform, and the preform is expanded to form a microporous article. Both the preform and the microporous article are formed at temperatures above the glass transition temperature and below the melting point of the PLA polymer.

The present invention relates to a polyethylene resin suitable for preparing moulded articles, such as caps and closures. The invention provides in particular a polyethylene resin comprising at least two polyethylene fractions A and B, wherein said polyethylene resin has a melt index (MI2), of at least 3.0 g/10 min to at most 5.5 g/10 min as measured according to ISO 1133, condition D, at 190° C. and under a load of 2.16 kg, and a density of at least 0.955 g/cm.sup.3 to at most 0.965 g/cm.sup.3 as measured according to ISO 1183 at 23° C., and a molecular weight distribution M.sub.w/M.sub.n which is at most 7.0, as determined by gel permeation chromatography, with M.sub.w being the weight-average molecular weight and M.sub.n being the number-average molecular weight; and wherein said polyethylene fraction A has a high load melt index (HLMI), as measured according to ISO 1133:1997 condition G at 190° C. and under a load of 21.6 kg, of at least 10.5 and a melt index (MI2) of at least 0.5 g/10 min to at most 1.5 g/10 min as measured according to ISO 1133, condition D, at 190° C. and under a load of 2.16 kg. The invention further relates to a process for preparing said polyethylene resin, to a cap or closure comprising said polyethylene, and to a process for producing such a cap or closure.

A laminate including a metal substrate having a chemically etched surface and a fluoroelastomer layer laminated in contact with the chemically etched surface or laminated in contact with a surface of a fluororesin layer laminated in contact with the chemically etched surface, and a gate seal including the laminate, are provided.