Activated Protective Fabric
AssigneeClemson University
InventorsChristine W. Cole, Philip J. Brown, Kathryn Stevens, Deborah K. Lickfield
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Disclosed are fibrous activated materials that can remove and/or deactivate potentially dangerous airborne agents from a gas or air stream. Disclosed materials are multi-layer materials that include a fibrous nonwoven interceptor layer and an active layer immediately adjacent the interceptor layer. The interceptor layer is a fibrous membrane of very low basis weight and defines a relatively low porosity, and the active layer describes geometries, chemistries, etc. that can entrap and/or decontaminate compounds contained in an airstream passing through the material. Disclosed materials can be utilized in forming protective garments, face masks, and the like.
Claims30
A protective fibrous material comprising:
- one or more interceptor layers including polymeric fibers in a fibrous web formation, each interceptor layer having a basis weight of less than about 50 grams per square meter;
- and
- one or more active layers positioned adjacent to the one or more interceptor layers, each active layer comprising polymeric fibers and each active layer having a basis weight of between about 5 and about 100 grams per square meter;
- wherein
- the protective fibrous material has a Frazier Air Permeability of at least about 1 cubic foot per minute.
A composite protective structure comprising a panel of a protective fibrous material, the protective fibrous material comprising:
- one or more interceptor layers including polymeric fibers in a nonwoven web, each interceptor layer having a basis weight of less than about 10 grams per square meter and a porosity providing a Frazier Air Permeability of at least about 1 cubic foot per minute;
- and
- one or more active layers in proximity to the one or more interceptor layers, each active layer including a plurality of polymeric fibers that entrap or decontaminate a threat agent, each active layer having a basis weight of between about 5 and about 100 grams per square meter;
- wherein
- the Frazier Air Permeability of the protective fibrous material is at least about 0.1 cubic foot per minute.
A method of forming a protective structure comprising:
- locating one or more interceptor layers adjacent to one or more active layers, each interceptor layer including polymeric fibers in a nonwoven web formation, each interceptor layer having a basis weight of less than about 10 grams per square meter and a Frazier Air Permeability of at least about 1 cubic foot per minute, each active layer including a plurality of polymeric fibers that entrap or decontaminate a threat agent;
- and
- laminating the one or more interceptor layers to the one or more active layers to form a multilayer protective material.
A protective fibrous material comprising one or more interceptor layers including ceramic or metal fibers in a fibrous web formation, each interceptor layer having a basis weight of less than about 50 grams per square meter, the protective fibrous material further comprising one or more active layers positioned adjacent to said interceptor layer or layers, each active layer having a basis weight of between about 5 and about 100 grams per square meter, wherein the Frazier Air Permeability of the protective fibrous material is at least about 1 cubic foot per minute.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.