Particle barrier nonwoven material

Abstract

Disclosed is a method of producing a nonwoven material having improved resistance to penetration by particles. The method includes the steps of heating at least one nonwoven web containing meltblown thermoplastic polymer fibers to a temperature at which the peak total energy absorbed by the nonwoven web of meltblown fibers is at least about 250 percent greater than the amount absorbed by the nonwoven web of meltblown fibers at room temperature; applying a tensioning force to neck the heated nonwoven web so that at least a portion of individual meltblown fibers have sections where the fiber diameter is substantially less than the diameter of the immediately adjacent sections; and cooling the necked nonwoven web Also disclosed is a nonwoven material composed of at least one web of meltblown thermoplastic polymer fibers, the web containing at least a portion of individual meltblown fibers having sections where the fiber diameter is substantially less than the diameter of the immediately adjacent sections so that the web is adapted to have improved resistance to particle penetration. The nonwoven material may be a component of a multilayer material having desirable resistance to particle penetration.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.