A non-wicking underlayment board and methods for forming the same. The non-wicking underlayment board includes a foam core formed of closed cell foam with reinforcement layers encapsulated within the foam core. Outer facings formed of mineral coated nonwoven fibers are positioned on opposite faces of the non-wicking underlayment panel. The non-wicking underlayment board is useful for efficient and cost effective installation of barriers and surfaces in water-resistant and waterproof environments.

The present invention relates to a meltblown nonwoven in the form of a sheet-like formation with a weight per unit area of 100 to 600 g/m.sup.2 and with a density of 5 to 50 kg/m.sup.3, wherein the meltblown nonwoven (10) has at least one spacer (12), extending at least on one of the surfaces thereof and/or at least partially in the direction of the thickness of the meltblown nonwoven (10) and arranged in such a way that the meltblown nonwoven (10) has a compressibility of less than 10% when a pressure of 50 Pa is applied to its surface.

The present invention concerns a process for preparing a microfibrous multilayer composite material comprising: 1) realizing a non-woven microfibrous semi-finished product made up of microfibres of one or more polymers dispersed in a polyurethane matrix (semi-finished product IE); 2) cutting the semi-finished product lengthwise into two layers; 3) buffing at least one layer on one side (side N) so as to extract the microfibres and form the nap, thereby obtaining a semi-finished raw product; 4) cutting at least one semi-finished raw product lengthwise parallel to the surfaces, producing an non-woven intermediate product, containing the buffed side (side N) and a waste layer (containing the side that has not been buffed—side S); 5) coupling the non-woven intermediate product (on the side opposite side N) to a fabric made of polyethylene terephthalate fibres by means of the application of a thermoplastic polyurethane adhesive that can be cross-linked between the non-woven intermediate product and the fabric; 6) submitting the multilayer composite material to a jet dyeing process. The invention also concerns a multilayer composite material that can be obtained by the process of the invention and the use thereof for covering the internal side of roofs or headliners of vehicles and for covering furnishing elements.

The sound absorbing material 50 comprises: a felt-like fiber body 51 which includes 15 to 70% by weight of fine fibers with a fineness of 1 denier or less, 20 to 60% by weight of hollow fibers having inner cavities, and 10 to 40% by weight of binder fibers that join the fibers together; and a nonwoven fabric 52 that is laminated on a surface of the felt-like fiber body 51. The nonwoven fabric 52 includes a plurality of drawn long fibers arranged and oriented in one direction. An average diameter of the plurality of long fibers is in the range of 1 to 4 μm. The sound absorbing material 50 has a thickness in the range of 8 to 45 mm and a bulk density of 20 kg/m.sup.3 or less.

A vehicle exterior member having a self-neutralizing function which can improve running characteristics and steering stability of a vehicle without impairing the design property has a fiber molded member containing a needle-punched nonwoven fabric or knitted fabric. The fibers constituting the fiber molded member contain a conductive fiber.

A sound-absorbing article (e.g., a tufted sound-absorbing article) can comprise a backing having a thickness and a plurality of face fibers associated with the backing. Optionally, the face fibers can comprise a plurality of tufts extending through the backing. The backing can define a plurality of perforations that fully extend through the thickness of the backing and are provided in a pattern to determine an acoustic property of the sound-absorbing article. Within at least a portion of the backing, sequential perforations within the pattern of the plurality of perforations can be spaced center-to-center by between 5 mm and 100 mm.

A breathable and waterproof non-woven fabric is manufactured by a manufacturing method including the following steps. Performing a kneading process on 87 to 91 parts by weight of a polyester, 5 to 7 parts by weight of a water repellent, and 3 to 6 parts by weight of a flow promoter to form a mixture, in which the polyester has a melt index between 350 g/10 min and 1310 g/10 min at a temperature of 270° C., and the mixture has a melt index between 530 g/10 min and 1540 g/10 min at a temperature of 270° C. Performing a melt-blowing process on the mixture, such that the flow promoter is volatilized and a melt-blown fiber is formed, in which the melt-blown fiber has a fiber body and the water repellent disposed on the fiber body with a particle size (D90) between 350 nm and 450 nm.

The present disclosure provides cover systems for covering components of a cabin interior of a vehicle, such as an automobile, a train car, a bus, a boat, or an aircraft, among others. For instance, the cover systems may cover one or more of a seat and a floor, among others, of the cabin interior. The fabric cover systems may absorb or partially absorb one or more of low-frequency sounds, such as low-frequency noise emitted by an engine, and high-frequency sounds, among others. The fabric cover systems may absorb or partially absorb odor molecules. The fabric covering systems may include multiple layers. For instance, one of the layers may include activated carbon fibers. The activated carbon fibers may absorb or partially absorb one or more of sounds, liquids, and odors, among others.

An example composite building material includes one or more layers of polymeric fibers, binding agent, and optional fillers, and at least one surface layer of resin-impregnated paper disposed above and/or below the one or more layers. The one or more layers can include a core layer with longer polymeric fibers and top and bottom layers with shorter polymeric fibers. A method of manufacturing the composite building material includes forming the one or more layers, applying the at least one surface layer above and/or below the one or more layers, and heating and pressing the combined layers.

A sound absorber/insulator in a motor vehicle is constructed of outer layer nonwoven scrims, perforated films, and a fill material core, which are typically fibers or foams. Fibers could be of a nonorganic nature such as glass, or an organic one like polyester or cotton. Foams could be of open cell polyurethane chemistry. The materials are enveloped in a thermoforming process wherein all layers are substantially adhered to each other. The fill material is responsible for sound attenuation whereby a higher weight input provides additional attenuation benefit. Specialized technical nonwoven scrims can also be used to enhance the sound attenuation where required. Increasing absorption properties by adding weight or using highly technical nonwovens is costly and results in a weight penalty. Perforated films of certain thicknesses, hole sizes, and hole densities significantly enhance sound attenuation properties of an absorber and do so with no changes to the manufacturing process, a minimal increase in weight, and at a substantially lower cost. The films can be positioned in different locations throughout an insulator, depending on absorption requirements.