Described is a composite made from a woven fabric, a non-woven fabric, or a knitted face fabric and a non-woven fabric. The woven fabric, the non-woven fabric, or the knitted face fabric is needle punched such that fibers protrude into the non-woven fabric. The woven fabric, the non-woven fabric, or the knitted face fabric has a first polymer having a first melting point and a second polymer having a second melting point being higher than the first melting point. The nonwoven backing material comprises a third polymer having a third melting point and a fourth polymer having a fourth melting point being higher than the third melting point. The woven fabric, the non-woven fabric, or the knitted face fabric is further bonded to the nonwoven backing material applying heat to at least partially melt or soften the first polymer and the third polymer such that they bond together.

A roofing shingle including a lower layer including a headlap and a plurality of tabs extending from the headlap, and an upper layer including one or more fingers, wherein the one or more fingers are disconnected from one another, and wherein each of the one or more fingers is disposed on one tab of the plurality of tabs, wherein a number of the plurality of tabs is different than a number of the one or more fingers. In an embodiment, the lower layer is a lowermost layer of the roofing shingle. In another embodiment, the roofing shingle further includes an alignment feature disposed in an exposure zone of the roofing shingle, wherein the alignment features is adapted to permit alignment of adjacent roofing shingles during installation on a roof.

A composite wingbox structure formed of reinforced thermoplastic. The composite includes carbon fiber reinforcement and a plurality of insulation elements to localize the heat formed during the process of manufacturing the structure. The process of manufacturing the wingbox includes the steps of interleaving a series of insulations elements within a plurality of laminae and consolidating the insulation elements and laminae to form a laminate. The laminate is then aligned with a support structure such that the insulation elements overlie the supports structure. The laminate is then fused to the support structure using a non-contact heating process, such as inductive welding.

A hot melt adhesive composition, which may be used as a construction adhesive in hygiene articles, comprises a first polymer comprising a unimodal copolymer of propylene and ethylene and having a weight average molecular weight of between about 5,000 and 60,000 daltons; a second polymer comprising a copolymer of propylene and ethylene and having a weight average molecular weight of at least 100,000 daltons; a tackifying resin having a Ring & Ball softening point of at most 115° C.; and a plasticizer. The composition demonstrates good peel strength and good shear resistance and is sprayable, with a sufficiently low viscosity, at low application temperatures, such as at about 121° C.

A moisture resistant carpet exhibiting exceptional delamination strength and methods of making same are disclosed.

An article of apparel including insulation material includes an insulating layer formed of waterfowl fibers and synthetic fibers. The waterfowl fibers can be present in an amount of at least 20% by weight of the insulating layer. The insulating layer is generally free of waterfowl plumage.

A textile composite material for lamination includes: a total material thickness which is smaller than 7 mm, with at least one nonwoven fabric component and with at least one foam material component which is connected to the nonwoven fabric component, the nonwoven fabric component comprises at least one binder fiber having a melting temperature that is greater than 150° C., the nonwoven fabric component comprises at least one functional fiber having a linear mass density value smaller than or equal to 50 dtex, and the functional fiber is embodied as a hollow fiber.

A nonwoven for use in a thermal liner for protective apparel includes 1-45 wt % of a first inherently heat resistant fiber excluding an aramid, and a balance of a second heat resistant fiber. The nonwoven excludes wool and has a thickness less than 3 mm and a basis weight of less than 2.9 osy (100 gsm). In another embodiment, the insulating layer for protective apparel includes a nonwoven including an inherently flame resistant fiber and fibers being inherently resistant to moisture absorption. The inherently flame resistant fiber is different from said inherently resistant to moisture absorption fiber. The nonwoven has an equivalent or better thermal protective performance (TPP) and a lower basis weight than an industry standard nonwoven consisting of a nonwoven of para-aramids or meta-aramids or a blend of both.

Filter media, such as electret-containing filtration media for filtering gas streams (e.g., air), are described herein. In some embodiments, the filter media may be designed to have desirable properties such as stable filtration efficiency over the lifetime of the filter media, increased normalized gamma, relatively low pressure drop (i.e. resistance), and/or relatively low basis weight. In certain embodiments, the filter media may be a composite of two or more types of fiber layers where each layer may be designed to enhance its function without substantially negatively impacting the performance of another layer of the media. For example, one layer of the media may be designed to have a relatively low basis weight and/or a relatively high air permeability, and another layer of the media may be designed to have stable filtration efficiency and/or a relatively high efficiency throughout the filter media's lifetime. The filter media described herein may be particularly well-suited for applications that involve filtering gas streams (e.g., face masks, cabin air filtration, vacuum filtration, room filtration, furnace filtration, respirator equipment, residential or industrial HVAC filtration, high-efficiency particulate arrestance (HEPA) filters, ultra-low particular air (ULPA) filters, medical equipment), though the media may also be used in other applications.

In the field of decorative floor coverings, decorative panels are known having a MDF (Medium Density Board) or HDF (High Density Board) based core layer on top of which a decorative substrate is attached to provide the panels a desired appearance. The invention relates to a panel, in particular a decorative panel, a floor panel, a ceiling panel or a wall panel. The invention also relates to a floor covering consisting of a plurality of mutually coupled panels.