Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc.

Jessica B King

Eugenio Go Varona

Mary Lucille DeLucia

Sandy Chi-Ching Tan

A method for producing an apertured structured material for accommodating passage of fluids, particularly high viscosity fluids, through the apertured structured material. In one embodiment, the apertured structured material is a composite material formed by differential shrinkage of a shrinkable second layer, for example an ethylene-propylene copolymer, which is laminated to a first layer, for example a polypropylene polymer. During the differential shrinkage process, a plurality of slits which are formed in the second layer open to form uniformly-shaped apertures. In another embodiment, an apertured structured heterogenous material is made of a heterogeneous mixture of at least two homogeneous fiber sets or components having different shrinkage extents.

Structured material having apertures and method of producing the same

A method for producing a structured material for accommodating passage of fluids, particularly high viscosity fluids, through the structured material. In one embodiment, the structured material is a composite material formed of a first layer, for example a polypropylene polymer, having a first shrinkage extent and a second layer bonded to the first layer, for example an ethylene-propylene copolymer, having a second shrinkage extent different from the first shrinkage extent. In another embodiment, a structured heterogenous material is made of a heterogeneous mixture of at least two homogeneous fiber sets or components having different shrinkage extents.

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Roswell, GA, United States of America

Jessica B King