Provided is a composite nonwoven fabric including: a silk region that contains crimped silk fibers as a main component; and a synthetic fiber nonwoven fabric region that contains polyolefin resin-containing synthetic fibers as a main component.

A nonwoven composite fabric including a first nonwoven layer composed substantially of meltblown fibers, the fibers within the first nonwoven layer having diameters that vary in accordance with a first distribution, a second nonwoven layer composed substantially of meltblown fibers, the fibers within the second nonwoven layer having diameters that vary in accordance with a second distribution, and a third nonwoven layer composed substantially of meltblown fibers, the third nonwoven layer disposed between the first and second nonwoven layers, the fibers within the third nonwoven layer having diameters that vary in accordance with a third distribution that is greater than the first and second distributions.

The present invention provides an anisotropic, thermal conductive, electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding composite including a plurality of aligned polymer nanofibers to form a polymer mat or scaffold having a first and second planes of orientation of the polymer nanofibers. The first plane of orientation of the polymer nanofibers has a thermal conductivity substantially the same as or similar to that of the second plane, and the thermal conductivity of the first or second plane of orientation of the polymer nanofibers is at least 2-fold of that of a third plane of orientation of the polymer nanofibers which is about 90 degrees out of the first and second planes of orientation of the polymer nanofibers, respectively, while the electrical resistance of each of the first and second planes is at least 3 orders lower than that of the third plane. A method for preparing the present composite is also provided.

Nonwoven fabrics are provided that include a plurality of crimped bicomponent fibers having a first component comprising a first polymeric material comprising a first polymer or a first polymeric blend and a second component comprising a second polymeric material, in which the second polymeric material comprises a second polymeric blend of (i) at least one polypropylene polymer, (ii) at least one polyethylene polymer, and (iii) at least one compatibilizer comprising or consisting of at least one polypropylene-polyethylene copolymer.

The invention relates to elastically stretchable nonwoven sheets comprising an elastically stretchable nonwoven layer and a stretchable facing layer, and an in-line method for making such sheets.

Fibrous structures containing a mixture of three or more different fibrous elements (filaments and/or fibers) are provided.

A fiber formed from a thermoplastic composition that contains a thermoplastic starch and an aliphatic-aromatic copolyester is provided. The copolyester enhances the strength of the starch-containing fibers and facilitates the ability of the starch to be melt processed. Due to its relatively low melting point, the copolyester may also be extruded with the thermoplastic starch at a temperature low enough to avoid substantial removal of the moisture in the starch. Furthermore, the copolyester is also modified with an alcohol to contain one or more hydroxyalkyl or alkyl terminal groups. By selectively controlling the conditions of the alcoholysis reaction (e.g., alcohol and copolymer concentrations, temperature, etc.), the resulting modified aliphatic-aromatic copolyester may have a relatively low molecular weight. Such low molecular weight polymers have the combination of a higher melt flow index and lower apparent viscosity, which is useful in a variety of fiber forming applications, such as meltblowing nonwoven webs.

A hook-and-loop fastener has a hook element comprising a substrate having a face from which projects a multiplicity of hooks and a loop element formed by of a fiber web. The fiber web is formed by a homogenous mixture of first multicomponent filaments each formed by a high-melting-point polymer and a low-melting-point polyolefinic polymer and second polyolefinic monocomponent filaments. The first filaments constitute between 20% and 80% by weight of the mixture. The fiber web has a face formed with a patterned array of dense bonded regions of a predetermined small thickness interspersed with less dense open regions of a predetermined big thickness substantially greater than the small thickness of the small thickness interspersed with less dense open regions of a predetermined big thickness substantially greater than the small thickness of the bonded regions so that the filaments of the open regions form loops.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, a nonwoven web may be manufactured by a process that includes forming a bicomponent fiber and forming the bicomponent fiber into the nonwoven web. The bicomponent fiber may comprise one or more primary polymer regions and two or more secondary polymer regions. The primary polymer regions may comprise polyethylene. The secondary polymer regions may comprise polypropylene, polyester, or polyamide. The primary polymer regions may comprise at least 2.5 wt. % of polypropylene, polyester, or polyamide, or the secondary polymer regions may comprise at least 2.5 wt. % of polyethylene, or both.

A process for forming a splittable fiber having the steps of providing a multicomponent fiber; or a multicomponent staple fiber, providing a finish material, and at least partially coating the multicomponent fiber with the finish material to form a splittable fiber. The multicomponent fiber; or a multicomponent staple fiber, contains a first thermoplastic segment comprising polymer component A and a second thermoplastic segment comprising polymer component B. The finish material has an evaporation point of less than about 160° C. A process for forming a nonwoven fabric, a split multicomponent fiber, a split multicomponent fiber with a durable charge, a nonwoven fabric, and a filter and/or a spun yarn formed by the fibers herein is also described.