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EP-4737112-A1 - COMPOSITE FABRIC

EP4737112A1EP 4737112 A1EP4737112 A1EP 4737112A1EP-4737112-A1

Abstract

Described herein is a composite fabric. The composite fabric may comprise a melt-blown thermoplastic elastomer layer; and a thermoplastic elastomer netting layer. The thermoplastic netting layer may comprise apertures with a longest dimension of at least about 0.5 mm; and have a thickness of at least about 0.25 mm. Also described herein is a method of producing a composite fabric comprising a melt-blown thermoplastic elastomer layer and a thermoplastic elastomer netting layer.

Inventors

  • WILLNECKER, Eva
  • WINTERER, Franziska
  • GRAVOT, Simon

Assignees

  • Neenah Gessner GmbH

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20241030

Claims (14)

  1. A composite fabric comprising: a melt-blown thermoplastic elastomer layer; and a thermoplastic elastomer netting layer; wherein the netting layer comprises apertures with a longest dimension of at least about 0.5 mm; and wherein the netting layer has a thickness of at least about 0.25 mm.
  2. The composite fabric according to claim 1, wherein the melt-blown thermoplastic elastomer layer is a thermoplastic polyurethane melt-blown layer, a thermoplastic styrene elastomer melt-blown layer, a thermoplastic polyamide melt-blown layer, a thermoplastic copolyester melt-blown layer, a thermoplastic polyolefin melt-blown layer, or a combination thereof.
  3. The composite fabric according to any preceding claim, wherein the thermoplastic elastomer netting layer is a thermoplastic polyurethane netting layer, a thermoplastic styrene elastomer netting layer, a thermoplastic polyamide netting layer, a thermoplastic copolyester netting layer, a thermoplastic polyolefin netting layer, or a combination thereof.
  4. The composite fabric according to any preceding claim, wherein the melt-blown thermoplastic elastomer layer is a melt-blown thermoplastic polyurethane layer; and/or wherein the thermoplastic elastomer netting layer is a thermoplastic polyurethane netting layer.
  5. The composite fabric according to any preceding claim, wherein the thermoplastic polyurethane netting layer is an extruded thermoplastic elastomer netting layer.
  6. The composite fabric according to claim 5, wherein the extruded thermoplastic netting layer comprises machine-direction strands and cross-direction strands and the machine direction strands are substantially perpendicular or perpendicular to the cross-direction strands.
  7. The composite fabric according to any preceding claim, wherein the netting layer comprises apertures with a shortest dimension of from about 0.5 mm to about 5 mm, for example, 0.5 mm to 1 mm; and/or wherein the netting layer comprises apertures with a second longest dimension of from about 0.5 mm to about 5 mm, for example, 1.5 mm to 3 mm.
  8. The composite fabric according to any preceding claim, wherein the netting layer has a thickness of from about 0.25 mm to about 1 mm; and/or wherein the melt-blown layer has a thickness of from about 0.1 mm to about 5 mm, for example, about 0.2 mm to about 1.2 mm.
  9. The composite fabric according to any preceding claim, wherein the melt-blown layer has a grammage of from about 25 g/m 2 to about 600 g/m 2 .
  10. The composite fabric according to any preceding claim, wherein the thermoplastic elastomer of the melt-blown layer is similar or identical to the thermoplastic elastomer of the netting layer.
  11. The composite fabric according to any preceding claim, wherein the thermoplastic elastomer of the melt-blown layer has a Shore hardness of 65A-85A, a Shore hardness of 80A-50D; or a Shore hardness of 90A-65D.
  12. The composite fabric according to any preceding claim, wherein the thermoplastic elastomer of the netting layer has a Shore hardness of 65A-85A, a Shore hardness of 80A-50D; or a Shore hardness of 90A-65D.
  13. The composite fabric according to any preceding claim, wherein the thermoplastic elastomer is a thermoplastic polyurethane and the thermoplastic polyurethane comprises a polymer formable by polymerization of an aromatic diisocyanate with a polyether.
  14. The composite fabric according to any preceding claim, wherein the thermoplastic elastomer melt-blown layer is self-adhered to the thermoplastic elastomer netting layer; or wherein an adhesive layer is disposed between the thermoplastic elastomer melt-blown layer and the thermoplastic elastomer netting layer.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Melt-blown fabrics have a number of different uses, from hygiene and textiles to industrial materials and filtration materials. Unfortunately, melt-blown nonwovens have a low tear resistance compared with textile webs because the melt-blown fibres are very fine and randomly oriented. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In an aspect, there is provided a composite fabric. The composite fabric may comprise a melt-blown thermoplastic elastomer layer and a thermoplastic elastomer netting layer. The netting layer may comprise apertures with a longest dimension of at least about 0.5 mm. The netting layer may have a thickness of at least about 0.25 mm. Also described herein are methods of producing a composite fabric. The method may comprise melt-blowing a thermoplastic elastomer onto a thermoplastic elastomer netting layer. Alternatively, the method may comprise laminating a melt-blown thermoplastic elastomer layer to a thermoplastic elastomer netting layer. In some examples, the lamination process may comprise heat sealing, for example, ultrasonic sealing, calendering or the like. Although thermoplastic elastomer melt-blown fabrics (e.g., thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) melt-blown fabrics) have a high tear resistance, once a hole or tear has been formed, the individual fibres cannot withstand the tearing force and the hole or tear increases in size. The present inventors have found that a composite formed from a combination of a melt-blown elastomer fabric (e.g., a melt-blown TPU fabric) with an elastomer net (e.g., a TPU net) shows unexpectedly reduced tear propagation, resulting in a significant improvement in durability of the melt-blown elastomer fabric. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Before the present disclosure is disclosed and described, it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the particular process steps and materials disclosed herein because such process steps and materials may vary somewhat. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is used for the purpose of describing particular embodiments. The terms are not intended to be limiting because the scope is intended to be limited by the appended claims and equivalents thereof. It is noted that, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. As used herein, "co-polymer" refers to a polymer that is polymerized from at least two monomers. If a standard test is mentioned herein, unless otherwise stated, the version of the test to be referred to is the most recent at the time of filing this patent application. As used herein, the term "about" is used to provide flexibility to a numerical range endpoint by providing that a given value may be a little above or a little below the endpoint to allow for variation in test methods or apparatus. The degree of flexibility of this term can be dictated by the particular variable and would be within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to determine based on experience and the associated description herein. As used herein, a plurality of items, structural elements, compositional elements, and/or materials may be presented in a common list for convenience. However, these lists should be construed as though each member of the list is individually identified as a separate and unique member. Thus, no individual member of such list should be construed as a de facto equivalent of any other member of the same list solely based on their presentation in a common group without indications to the contrary. Concentrations, amounts, and other numerical data may be expressed or presented herein in a range format. It is to be understood that such a range format is used merely for convenience and brevity and thus should be interpreted flexibly to include not just the numerical values explicitly recited as the limits of the range, but also to include all the individual numerical values or sub-ranges encompassed within that range as if each numerical value and sub-range is explicitly recited. As an illustration, a numerical range of "about 1 mm to about 5 mm" should be interpreted to include not just the explicitly recited values of about 1 mm to about 5 mm, but also to include individual values and sub-ranges within the indicated range. Thus, included in this numerical range are individual values such as 2, 3.5, and 4 and sub-ranges such as from 1-3, from 2-4, and from 3-5, etc. This same principle applies to ranges reciting a single numerical value. Furthermore, such an interpretation should apply regardless of the breadth of the range or the characteristics being described. Unless otherwise stated, any feature described herein can be combined with any aspect or any other feature described herein. Composite Fabric In an aspect, there is provided a composite fabric. The composite fabric may comprise a melt-blown thermoplastic elastomer layer; and a th