CUT RESISTANT FILLED LENGTHY BODY

Abstract

The present invention relates to a lengthy body comprising: i) high-performance polyethylene fibers comprising a hard component, the hard component having a Mohs hardness of at least 2.5, and ii) a polymeric resin, wherein the polymeric resin is a homopolymer of ethylene or propylene or is a copolymer of ethylene and/or propylene, wherein the polymeric resin has a density as measured according to IS01183-2004 in the range from 860 to 970 kg/m.sup.3, a melting temperature in the range from 40 to 140° C. and a heat of fusion of at least 5 J/g.

Claims

1. A lengthy body comprising: i) high-performance polyethylene (HPPE) fibers comprising a hard component, the hard component having a Mohs hardness of at least 2.5; and ii) a polymeric resin, wherein the polymeric resin is a homopolymer of ethylene or propylene or is a copolymer of ethylene and/or propylene, wherein the polymeric resin has a density as measured according to ISO1183-2004 in the range from 860 to 970 kg/m.sup.3, a melting temperature in the range from 40 to 140° C. and a heat of fusion of at least 5 J/g.

2. The lengthy body according to claim 1, wherein the hard component is hard particles and/or hard fibers.

3. The lengthy body according to claim 1, wherein the HPPE fibers comprising the hard component having a Mohs hardness of at least 2.5 are continuous filaments or staple fibers.

4. The lengthy body according to claim 1, wherein the HPPE fibers comprising the hard component having a Mohs hardness of at least 2.5 are prepared by a melt spinning process, a gel spinning process or solid state powder compaction process.

5. The lengthy body according to claim 1, wherein the polymeric resin is a coating on the HPPE fibers comprising the hard component having a Mohs hardness of at least 2.5, preferably the coating being obtained from an aqueous suspension.

6. The lengthy body according to claim 1, wherein the HPPE fibers comprising the hard component having a Mohs hardness of at least 2.5 have a tenacity of at least 0.5 N/tex, preferably at least 1 N/tex, more preferably at least 1.5 N/tex.

7. The lengthy body according to claim 1, wherein the HPPE fibers comprise ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), preferably the HPPE fibers substantially consist of UHMWPE and the hard component having a Mohs hardness of at least 2.5.

8. The lengthy body according to claim 1, wherein the amount of polymeric resin in the lengthy body is from 1 to 20 wt %, preferably from 2 to 10 wt %, more preferably from 2 to 5 wt %, whereby the weight percentage is the weight of polymeric resin relative to the total weight of the lengthy body.

9. The lengthy body according to claim 1, wherein the density of the polymeric resin is in the range from 870 to 930 kg/m.sup.3, preferably from 870 to 920 kg/m.sup.3, more preferably from 875 to 910 kg/m.sup.3.

10. The lengthy body according to claim 1, wherein the polymeric resin comprises an ethylene acrylic acid copolymer.

11. A method for manufacturing the lengthy body according to claim 1, comprising the steps of: a) providing high-performance polyethylene (HPPE) fibers and a hard component, the hard component having a Mohs hardness of at least 2.5; b) applying a solvent solution or an aqueous suspension of a polymeric resin to the fibers of step a), during or after step a); c) at least partially drying the solvent solution or aqueous suspension of the polymeric resin applied in step b); to obtain a lengthy body comprising the filled fibers upon completion of steps a), b) and c); d) optionally, applying a temperature in the range from the melting temperature of the resin to 153° C. to the lengthy body of step b) before, during and/or after step c) to at least partially melt the polymeric resin; and e) optionally applying a pressure and/or a tension to the lengthy body obtained in step c) before, during and/or after step d) to at least partially compact and/or elongate the lengthy body, wherein the polymeric resin is a homopolymer of ethylene or propylene or is a copolymer of ethylene and/or propylene, wherein the polymeric resin has a density as measured according to ISO1183-2004 in the range from 860 to 970 kg/m.sup.3, a melting temperature in the range from 40 to 140° C. and a heat of fusion of at least 5 J/g.

12. The process according to claim 11, wherein the concentration of polymeric resin in the aqueous suspension is at most 30 wt %, whereby the weight percentage is the weight of polymeric resin relative to the total weight of aqueous suspension.

13. A fabric comprising the lengthy body according to claim 1.

14. A garment comprising the fabric according to claim 13.

15. The garment according to claim 14, wherein the garment is a glove.

Description

EXAMPLES

Comparative Experiment 1 (CE1)

[0076] Yarn A obtained according to Example 1 of WO2013149990 was then knitted into a fabric of 260 grams per square meter (fabric A). The fabric was tested and the results are given in Table 1.

Example 1 (Ex.1)

[0077] Yarn A as obtained according to Comparative Experiment 1 was then coated by dipping it in a polyolefin suspension prepared by diluting suspension A with a tenfold amount of water. The wetted yarn was then fed through an oven with a length of 8.4 meters with an inlet speed of 5 m/s and an outlet speed of 6 m/s. The oven temperature was set at 130° C. The obtained dried yarn (yarn B) contained 3.5 wt % polyolefin resin and 96.5 wt % fibrous material. Subsequently, yarn B was knitted into a fabric of 260 grams per square meter (fabric B). The fabric was tested and the results are given in Table 1.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Tenacity of ingredient Cut resis- Dust formation Sample yarn [cN/dtex] tance [N] observations Fabric A 16.8 9.2 Visible dust speckles on white paper Fabric B 17 9.4 No visible dust speckles on white paper

[0078] It was observed that dust formation becomes visible as grey speckles during the process of knitting yarn A (Comparative Experiment 1), whereas and no visible dust speckles was observed when knitting 15 minutes with yarn B according to present invention (Example 1). This can also be observed from the SEM pictures shown as FIG. 1 (yarn A of Comparative Experiment 1) and FIG. 2 (yarn B of Example 1). FIG. 1 illustrates a SEM micrograph of filaments (i.e. lengthy body) containing hard fibers hardly connected to one filament, in the absence of the polymeric resin coating. The base UHMWPE filaments run from up to down at an angle of about 20 degree with the vertical direction. The diameter of the filaments in FIG. 1 is about 30 microns (to be concluded from the scale bar at the bottom, being 60 microns). FIG. 2 shows a SEM micrograph of UHMWPE-based filaments (lengthy body according to the present invention) with hard fibers connected to one UHMWPE filament comprising a coating, that is visible as a small amount of meniscus shaped solid between the hard fiber and the UHMWPE filament. The base UHMWPE filaments run almost in a horizontal direction. The diameter of the filaments in FIG. 2 is about 30 microns (to be concluded from the scale bar at the bottom, being 50 microns). The polymer resin EAA coating is visible in FIG. 2, but it is surprising that such small amounts can prevent the dust formation. Furthermore, it was observed that by introducing the polymeric resin through the UHMWPE fibers containing the hard component, the tenacity of yarn B and the cut resistance of the fabric formed from the yarn B were maintained at high levels.