A nonwoven mat and a method of making a nonwoven mat are provided. The nonwoven mat includes reinforcing fibers and a binder composition that includes a polycarboxy polymer and polymer microspheres. The binder composition may also include low-density fibers, such as microfibrillated cellulose fibers. The polymer microspheres have a thermoplastic shell that encapsulates a blowing agent. The thermoplastic shell has magnesium hydroxide on its outer surface. The components of the binder composition interact with one another and/or the reinforcing fibers to form a nonwoven mat having a less permeable structure and a higher caliper.

A nonwoven article includes a plurality of polycrystalline, aluminosilicate ceramic filaments entangled to form a cohesive nonwoven mat. Each of the aluminosilicate ceramic filaments in the mat has an average diameter of less than about 2 microns (μm), and the aluminosilicate ceramic filaments include an average of about 15 wt % to about 80 wt % crystalline mullite.

A method of fabricating a fiber structure by multilayer three-dimensional weaving between a plurality of weft yarns and of warp yarns, the fiber structure having at least first and second portions that are adjacent in the warp direction, the first portion presenting, in a direction perpendicular to the warp and weft directions, a thickness greater than the thickness of the second portion, includes making the first portion using a step of three-dimensionally weaving warp and weft layers in which a fiber fabric is formed in the form of a Mock-Leno weave grid in a core of the first portion together with skins at a surface of the first portion, a weave of the skins being modified locally so as to deflect certain warp yarns from said skins and weave them with the fiber fabric in the form of the Mock-Leno weave grid.

A composite fiber composed of at least a metal sintered body and a ceramic sintered body. In the composite fiber, the metal sintered body and the ceramic sintered body are adjacent to each other. The composite fiber having the metal sintered body and the ceramic sintered body can have a tensile strength of 5 kgf/mm.sup.2 or more.

A composite fiber having a core sheath-structure that includes a core portion having an electrically conductive material, and a sheath portion having a ceramic component covering the core portion. The composite fiber is constructed such that, when the core portion is connected to a ground, the sheath portion exhibits one of a positive surface potential or a negative surface potential over an entire surface of the sheath portion.

Systems and methods are provided for braiding Metal Matrix Composite (MMC) tape. One method includes drawing multiple lanes of MMC tape, comprising a matrix of metal reinforced by fibers, from bobbins arranged around a mandrel. The method also includes braiding the multiple lanes to form a preform at the mandrel for an MMC part and consolidating the preform via application of heat and pressure.

A method for preparing an insulating product based on wool includes an aeration step inside a device, the device including a chamber and at least one structure capable of generating a turbulent gaseous flow, during the aeration step. A stream of carrier gas is introduced into the chamber and a wool in the form of nodules or flakes is subjected to the turbulent flow of this carrier gas with entrainment in one sense in a direction A and in the opposite sense in a direction B that is the opposite to the direction A so that within the chamber there is at least in one plane perpendicular to the direction A in which the wool entrained in the direction A crosses the wool entrained in the direction B.

A barium titanate fiber is useful as a filler for a polymer composite piezoelectric body, a polymer composite piezoelectric body has high piezoelectric properties, and a piezoelectric element utilizes the polymer composite piezoelectric body. In the barium titanate fiber, the molar ratio of barium atoms to titanium atoms (Ba/Ti ratio) falls within the range of 1.01 to 1.04. The polymer composite piezoelectric body includes a resin composition containing the barium titanate fiber and a polymer. The piezoelectric element including an electrically conductive layer on one surface or both surfaces of the polymer composite piezoelectric body.

A method for the production of conductive structures, wherein nanofibers are applied with a photocatalytic component onto a substrate, in particular by electrospinning, and wherein a metallic layer is deposited photolytically on the substrate.

A preparation method for an yttrium aluminum garnet continuous fiber. The method prepares a spinnable precursor sol by utilizing an Al.sub.13 colloidal particles contained alumina sol, γ-AlOOH nano-dispersion, yttria sol, glacial acetic acid and polyvinylpyrrolidone, then prepares a gel continuous fiber by adopting a dry spinning technique, and carries out a heat treatment to obtain the yttrium aluminum garnet continuous fiber.