Thermal insulators and methods thereof
Assignee3M Innovative Properties Company
InventorsPingfan Wu, Tien Tsung Wu, Gerry A. Hoffdahl, MingZhu Li
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Abstract
The provided articles and methods use a non-woven fibrous web containing 60-100 wt % of oxidized polyacrylonitrile fibers; and 0-40 wt % of reinforcing fibers having outer surfaces comprised of a polymer with a melting temperature of from 100° C. to 300° C. The non-woven fibrous web has an average bulk density of from 15 kg/m3 to 50 kg/m3, with the plurality of fibers substantially entangled along directions perpendicular to a major surface of the non-woven fibrous web. Optionally, the oxidized polyacrylonitrile fibers can have a crimped configuration. Advantageously, these articles can display a combination of low thermal conductivity, high tensile strength, and flame resistance.
Claims16
A thermally-insulated assembly for an electric vehicle battery comprising:
- a battery case for the electric vehicle battery, the battery case made from an aluminum or composite material;
- one or more thermal insulators at least partially surrounding the battery case, each of the one or more thermal insulators comprising:
- a non-woven fibrous web comprising a plurality of fibers, the plurality of fibers comprising:
- 81-100 wt % of oxidized polyacrylonitrile fibers, wherein the oxidized polyacrylonitrile fibers have crimped configurations;
- and
- 3-19 wt % of reinforcing fibers having an outer surface comprised of a polymer with a melting temperature of from 100° C. to 300° C., the reinforcing fibers being polyethylene terephthalate fibers containing a flame retardant agent,
- wherein the non-woven fibrous web has an average bulk density of from 15 kg/m3 to 50 kg/m3, wherein the plurality of fibers are substantially entangled along directions perpendicular to a major surface of the non-woven fibrous web, and further wherein the reinforcing fibers are at least partially melted to produce a three-dimensional array of nodes whereby the oxidized polyacrylonitrile fibers and the reinforcing fibers are physically attached to each other.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.