Methods for producing a mineral wool needle-felt and a mineral wool product using a thixotropic additive

Abstract

In order to be able to consolidate mineral fibers without binder, such as in particular glass wool into a needle-felt by needle-punching, an agent as a needling aid which comprises a thixotropizing additive having a relatively low flow viscosity during needling and thus allows to effectively support the needling process, is added to the mineral fibers. At rest, this thixotropizing additive however has an extremely high viscosity, whereby the needle-punched felt obtains good strength. In particular, for needling rock wool, suppler textile fibers are moreover added which contribute to improved mutual interlocking of the fibers, in particular in the case of mineral fibers such as basalt fibers, which can only with difficulty be interlocked by needling. A corresponding processing aid furthermore proves advantageous in the production of a crimped mat from a laminar mat, as the drastically weakened resistance against further shifting makes it possible to reorient the fibers in the crimping zone, gently and to a large degree, without the application of excessively large forces.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.