Blended fiber yarns and fabrics including oxidized polymeric fibers
View Patent ↗An article comprising a fabric comprising: (a) a blended yarn comprising: (i) from about 10% to about 85% by weight of at least one biregional fiber comprising an oxidized polymer selected from the group consisting of acrylonitrile based homopolymers, acrylonitrile based copolymers, acrylonitrile based terpolymers, and combinations thereof; (ii) at least one companion fiber selected from the group consisting of FR polyester, FR nylon, FR rayon, FR treated cellulose, m-aramid, p-aramid, modacrylic, novoloid, melamine, wool, nylon, regenerated cellulose, polyvinyl chloride, antistatic fiber, poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) (PBO), polybenzimidazole (PBI), polysulphonamide (PSA), and combinations thereof; and (b) optionally including a companion yarn different from said blended yarn; wherein said companion yarn includes p-aramid in an amount less than 20% of the fabric weight; and wherein the fabric has a weight from about 3 oz/yd 2 to about 12 oz/yd 2 .
1. A fabric comprising:
(a) a blended yarn comprising:
(i) from about 10% to about 85% by weight of at least one fiber comprising an oxidized polymer selected from the group consisting of acrylonitrile based homopolymers, acrylonitrile based copolymers, acrylonitrile based terpolymers, and combinations thereof;
(ii) at least two companion fibers selected from FR polyester, FR nylon, FR rayon, FR treated cellulose, m-aramid, p-aramid, modacrylic, wool, nylon, regenerated cellulose, antistatic fiber and combinations thereof; and
(b) a companion yarn different from said blended yarn; wherein said companion yarn consists essentially of staple fibers comprising
(i) p-aramid, wherein the p-aramid is present in an amount less than 20% of the fabric weight; and
(ii) at least one fiber selected from FR polyester, FR nylon, FR rayon, m-aramid, modacrylic, FR treated cellulose, wool, nylon, regenerated cellulose, antistatic fiber, and combinations thereof;
wherein a ratio of arc rating to weight is greater than 1.
2. The fabric of claim 1 , wherein said fabric is woven.
3. The fabric of claim 1 , wherein the fabric has a weight from about 3 oz/yd 2 to about 12 oz/yd 2 .
4. The fabric of claim 1 , wherein the blended yarn further comprises a fiber comprising an oxidized polymer which is substantially uniformly oxidized throughout the cross-section of the fiber.
5. The fabric of claim 4 , wherein the fiber which is substantially uniformly oxidized has a density from about 1.30 g/cm 3 to about 1.44 g/cm 3 .
6. The fabric of claim 1 , wherein the fiber comprising the oxidized polymer is a biregional fiber, and wherein the oxidized biregional polymer has a density from about 1.20 g/cm 3 to about 1.40 g/cm 3 .
7. The fabric of claim 6 , wherein the biregional fiber has an unoxidized polymeric core and an oxidized polymeric sheath.
8. The fabric of claim 7 , wherein the biregional fiber has a ratio of the radius of the core to the radius of the fiber (r:R) of from about 1:1.03 to about 1:7.
9. The fabric of claim 7 , wherein the biregional fiber has a ratio of the radius of the core to the radius of the fiber (r:R) of from about 1:1.03 to about 1:1.4.
10. The fabric of claim 7 , wherein the biregional fiber has a ratio of the radius of the core to the radius of the fiber of from about 1:1.105 to about 1:1.8.
11. The fabric of claim 1 , wherein the oxidized polymer comprises polyacrylonitrile.
12. The fabric of claim 1 , wherein the oxidized polymer has a density from about 1.20 g/cm 3 to about 1.50 g/cm 3 .
13. The fabric of claim 3 , wherein the fabric has a weight from about 4 oz/yd 2 to about 9 oz/yd 2 .
14. The fabric of claim 1 , wherein said arc rating is greater than 8.
15. The fabric of claim 1 , wherein said arc rating is greater than 9, and said article has a weight from about 6.5 oz/yd 2 to about 7.5 oz/yd 2 .
16. The fabric of claim 1 , wherein said arc rating is greater than 8, and said article has a weight from about 5.0 oz/yd 2 to about 6.5 oz/yd 2 .
17. The fabric of claim 1 , wherein the fabric has been dyed.
18. The fabric of claim 1 , wherein said fabric comprises a garment.
19. The fabric of claim 1 , wherein the fiber comprising the oxidized polymer is present in the yarn in an amount from about 15% to about 50% by weight of the yarn.
20. The fabric of claim 1 , wherein said yarn includes at least three companion fibers.
21. The fabric of claim 20 , wherein the fiber comprising the oxidized polymer is present in the yarn in an amount from about 15% to about 50% by weight of the yarn.
22. The fabric of claim 20 , wherein the three companion fibers are selected from:
(a) the combination of FR rayon, nylon, regenerated cellulose, and p-aramid; and
(b) the combination of wool, modacrylic and nylon and regenerated cellulose.
23. The fabric of claim 1 , wherein said yarn includes four companion fibers.
24. The fabric of claim 1 , wherein said yarn is a blended yarn made on a worsted spinning system.
25. An article comprising:
(a) a blended yarn, wherein the blended yarn comprises at least one oxidized polymeric fiber and at least three companion fibers selected from the group consisting of FR polyester, FR nylon, FR rayon, FR treated cellulose, m-aramid, p-aramid, modacrylic, wool, nylon, regenerated cellulose, antistatic fiber, and combinations thereof; and
(b) a companion yarn different from said blended yarn; wherein said companion yarn consists essentially of staple fibers comprising
(i) p-aramid, wherein the p-aramid is present in an amount less than 20% of the fabric weight; and
(ii) at least one fiber selected from the group consisting of FR polyester, FR nylon, FR rayon, FR treated cellulose, m-aramid, modacrylic, wool, nylon, regenerated cellulose, antistatic fiber, and a combination thereof;
wherein the article is a woven fabric;
wherein the article has an arc rating to weight ratio of greater than 1; and
said fabric meets the standards for HRC level 2.
26. The article of claim 25 , wherein the fabric has a weight from about 3 oz/yd 2 to about 12 oz/yd 2 .
27. The article of claim 25 , wherein the fabric has an arc rating of greater than 8.
28. A method comprising:
(a) providing at least one fiber comprising an oxidized polymer selected from the group consisting of acrylonitrile based homopolymers, acrylonitrile based copolymers, acrylonitrile based terpolymers, and combinations thereof;
(b) providing at least two companion fibers selected from FR polyester, FR nylon, FR rayon, FR treated cellulose, m-aramid, p-aramid, modacrylic, wool, nylon, regenerated cellulose, antistatic fiber, and combinations thereof; and
(c) combining said fiber comprising oxidized polymeric fiber and said at least one companion fiber to form a blended yarn;
wherein said fiber comprising the oxidized polymer is present in an amount from about 10% to about 85% by weight of the yarn;
(d) providing a companion yarn different from said blended yarn; wherein said companion yarn consists essentially of staple fibers comprising:
(i) p-aramid, wherein the p-aramid is present in an amount less than 20% of the fabric weight; and
(ii) at least one fiber selected from FR polyester, FR nylon, FR rayon, FR treated cellulose, m-aramid, modacrylic, wool, nylon, regenerated cellulose, antistatic fiber, and a combination thereof;
(e) combining the blended yarn with the companion yarn to form a fabric;
and wherein a ratio of arc rating to weight is greater than 1.
29. The method of claim 28 , wherein said yarn is prepared by using worsted carding.
30. The method of claim 28 , wherein said yarn is prepared by using converted tow.
31. The method of claim 28 , wherein said fiber comprising an oxidized polymer is selected from the group consisting of staple fiber, mid-fiber, worsted fiber, and continuous filament.