Foamed articles including a foamed thermoplastic elastomeric material, methods of making the articles, and methods for manufacturing articles of footwear, apparel, and athletic equipment incorporating the articles are provided. One exemplary method for making a foamed article comprises placing an article comprising a foamable fibrous element and carbon dioxide in a vessel, the foamable fibrous element comprising a plurality of filaments, fibers, and/or yarns, wherein each member of the plurality comprises a foamable material; maintaining the vessel at a first pressure and first temperature at which the carbon dioxide is a liquid and carbon dioxide is soluble in the foamable material; optionally exposing the infused article to a second temperature and second pressure; and subjecting the article to a third pressure and third temperature at which the infused carbon dioxide phase transitions to a gas, thereby expanding the foamable material into a foamed material and forming the foamed article.

Methods and apparatuses for producing a zoned and/or layered substrate are described. A substrate can include a first layer including a first zone, a second zone, and an interface between zones. The first zone can include a plurality of fibers. The second zone can include a plurality of fibers and can be offset from the first zone in a cross-direction. The interface can include at least some of the plurality of fibers of the first zone and at least some of the plurality of fibers of the second zone to provide a purity gradient with a transition width less than 3.8 cm as defined by the Purity Gradient Test Method as described herein.

Methods and apparatuses for producing a zoned and/or layered substrate are described. A method can include providing a first supply of fibers, providing a second supply of fibers, and providing a headbox. The headbox can include a machine direction, a cross-direction, and a first cross-directional divider that separates a first zone of the headbox from a second zone of the headbox in a cross-directional manner. The method can further include transferring the first supply of fibers and the second supply of fibers to the headbox. The method can also include transferring the first supply of fibers and the second supply of fibers through the headbox to provide the substrate.

A method for making a high topography nonwoven substrate includes generating a foam including water and synthetic binder fibers; depositing the foam on a planar surface; disposing a template form on the foam opposite the planar surface to create a foam/form assembly; heating the foam/form assembly to dry the foam and bind the synthetic binder fibers; and removing the template from the substrate after heating the foam/form assembly, wherein the substrate includes a planar base layer having an X-Y surface and a backside surface opposite the X-Y surface; and a plurality of projection elements integral with and protruding in a Z-direction from the X-Y surface, wherein the projection elements are distributed in both the X- and Y-directions, and wherein the density of a projection element is the same as the density of the base layer.

A method for making a high topography nonwoven substrate includes generating a foam including water and synthetic binder fibers; depositing the foam on a planar surface; disposing a template form on the foam opposite the planar surface to create a foam/form assembly; heating the foam/form assembly to dry the foam and bind the synthetic binder fibers; and removing the template from the substrate after heating the foam/form assembly, wherein the substrate includes a planar base layer having an X-Y surface and a backside surface opposite the X-Y surface; and a plurality of projection elements integral with and protruding in a Z-direction from the X-Y surface, wherein the projection elements are distributed in both the X- and Y-directions, and wherein the density of a projection element is the same as the density of the base layer.

A method for making a high topography nonwoven substrate includes generating a foam including water and synthetic binder fibers; depositing the foam on a planar surface; disposing a template form on the foam opposite the planar surface to create a foam/form assembly; heating the foam/form assembly to dry the foam and bind the synthetic binder fibers; and removing the template from the substrate after heating the foam/form assembly, wherein the substrate includes a planar base layer having an X-Y surface and a backside surface opposite the X-Y surface; and a plurality of projection elements integral with and protruding in a Z-direction from the X-Y surface, wherein the projection elements are distributed in both the X- and Y-directions, and wherein the density of a projection element is the same as the density of the base layer.

A method for making a high topography nonwoven substrate includes generating a foam including water and synthetic binder fibers; depositing the foam on a planar surface; disposing a template form on the foam opposite the planar surface to create a foam/form assembly; heating the foam/form assembly to dry the foam and bind the synthetic binder fibers; and removing the template from the substrate after heating the foam/form assembly, wherein the substrate includes a planar base layer having an X-Y surface and a backside surface opposite the X-Y surface; and a plurality of projection elements integral with and protruding in a Z-direction from the X-Y surface, wherein the projection elements are distributed in both the X- and Y-directions, and wherein the density of a projection element is the same as the density of the base layer.

A non-woven polymeric mat for protecting pipelines, the mat including a plurality of extruded, strands derived from a polymer blend of pelletized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) resin having a k-value ranging from 60 to 70 and an olefin-based thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), wherein the amount of TPE in the polymer blend ranges from about 2.8 parts by weight to about 4 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of PVC resin in the polymer blend and is sufficient to improve the modulus and tensile strength of the mat, and further wherein the polymer blend is devoid of a nucleating agent and is devoid of a cross-linking agent, and wherein the extruded strands have a specific gravity ranging from about 1.25 to about 1.4.

Foamed articles including a foamed thermoplastic elastomeric material, methods of making the articles, and methods for manufacturing articles of footwear, apparel, and athletic equipment incorporating the articles are provided. One exemplary method for making a foamed article comprises placing an article comprising a foamable fibrous element and carbon dioxide in a vessel, the foamable fibrous element comprising a plurality of filaments, fibers, and/or yarns, wherein each member of the plurality comprises a foamable material; maintaining the vessel at a first pressure and first temperature at which the carbon dioxide is a liquid and carbon dioxide is soluble in the foamable material; optionally exposing the infused article to a second temperature and second pressure; and subjecting the article to a third pressure and third temperature at which the infused carbon dioxide phase transitions to a gas, thereby expanding the foamable material into a foamed material and forming the foamed article.

A method for forming porous fibers is provided. The fibers are formed from a thermoplastic composition containing a continuous phase, which includes a matrix polymer, and a nanoinclusion additive that is at least partially incompatible with the matrix polymer so that it becomes dispersed within the continuous phase as discrete nano-scale phase domains. The method includes traversing a bundle of the fibers through a multi-stage drawing system that includes at least a first fluidic drawing stage and a second fluidic drawing stage. The first drawing stage employs a first fluidic medium having a first temperature and the second drawing stage employs a second fluidic medium having a second temperature. The first and second temperatures are both lower than the melting temperature of the matrix polymer, and the first temperature is greater than the second temperature.