University of Oklahoma

Robert L Shambaugh

Jeffrey H Harwell

Gerard K Newman

A melt blowing apparatus and method includes a melt blowing die and at least one louver. The melt blowing die has a nosepiece comprising at least one aperture and at least one air slot adjacent the aperture. The at least one louver is movably positioned adjacent a face of the melt blowing die forming a zone through which can pass air and molten filaments from the air slots and nosepiece of the melt blowing die.

Melt blowing apparatus and method

A method for forming fibers/composite material having an anisotropic structure, comprising the steps of mixing an effective amount of fibers with a matrix material to form a deformable mixture containing less than about 96 weight percent of the fibers to about parts per billion of the fibers and wherein the fibers are randomly oriented in the deformable mixture. The deformable mixture can be extruded, stretched or otherwise deformed to form an extrudate. Pressure is applied about the extrudate to substantially compress the fibers in the extrudate to provide the fibers/composite material having an anisotropic structure.

Method for forming a fibers/composite material having an anisotropic structure

A nanotube/matrix composite mixture, and a method of producing it, which can be used to form a composite material such as a drawn fiber having an increased strength over a drawn fiber formed from the matrix material alone. Nanotubes are combined with a solvent material to form a nanotube/solvent mixture. The nanotube/solvent mixture is mixed, for example by sonication, such that the nanotubes are uniformly dispersed in the nanotube/solvent mixture. An amount of a matrix material (with or without a solvent) is then combined with the nanotube/solvent mixture to form a nanotube/solvent/matrix mixture. The nanotube/solvent/mixture and the matrix material are mixed such that the nanotubes are maintained in uniformly dispersed state in the nanotube/solvent/matrix mixture, for example by continued sonication after the nanotubes and matrix material are combined. The solvent material is then substantially removed from the nanotube/solvent/matrix mixture to form the nanotube/matrix composite mixture, which can then be used in a commercial process to produce a composite material such as drawn fiber, as produced, for example, by melt spinning.

Nanotube/matrix composites and methods of production and use

A method of attenuating a molten thermoplastic polymer stream into polymer fibers for forming a non-woven fiber mat, and the non-woven fiber mat formed thereby. The method applying a gas stream to a molten polymer stream, and inducing a cyclic pulsation in the gas stream. The cyclic pulsation further comprises a discontinuous flow of the gas stream. The application of the gas stream to the molten polymer stream causes the attenuation of the molten polymer stream into a plurality of fibers which are collected onto a receiving surface thereby forming a non-woven fiber mat. The method may be used to impart a particularly unique or otherwise desirable configuration to the fibers or to the fiber mat produced from them. The gas stream may be comprised of a primary gas flow having a first stream and a second stream. The gas stream may be further comprised of a secondary gas flow having a first stream and a second stream. The gas stream may be further comprised of a plurality of gas flows each having one or more gas flows. The invention further comprises a model to predict the thermal and mechanical behavior of a polymer stream after it exits a melt blowing die. The model is a logical extension of the Uyttendaele and Shambaugh model for melt blowing. The model takes into account the fiber vibrations that become pronounced during high velocity melt blowing and can be used to estimate the experimental conditions that will cause fiber breakage, as well as the optimum frequency of the pulsation.

Polymer processing using pulsating fluidic flow

A method for using laser Doppler velocimetry to determine the mass flux (mass per area per time) of a polymer fiber stream without interfering with the flow of the fiber stream wherein a factor is determined for converting laser data rate information into stream flow mass flux values and to determine the diameter of a filament by measuring filament velocity without interfering with the flow of the filament.

Growing community of inventors

Norman, OK, United States of America

Robert L Shambaugh