DIMENSIONALLY-STABLE, FIRE-RESISTANT MELT-BLOWN FIBERS AND NONWOVEN STRUCTURES INCLUDING A FLAME RETARDING POLYMER

摘要

Dimensionally stable fire-resistant fibrous structures including fire-resistant melt-blown nonwoven fibers, and processes and apparatus for producing such dimensionally stable, fire-resistant nonwoven fibrous structures. The melt-blown fibers include poly(phenylene sulfide) in an amount sufficient for the nonwoven fibrous structures to pass one or more fire-resistance test selected from UL 94 V0, FAR 25.853 (a), and FAR 25.856 (a), without any halogenated flame-retardant additive in the nonwoven fibrous structure. The melt-blown fibers are subjected to a controlled in-flight heat treatment at a temperature below a melting temperature of the poly(phenylene sulfide) immediately upon exiting from at least one orifice of a melt-blowing die, in order to impart dimensional stability to the fibers. The nonwoven fibrous structures including the in-flight heat treated melt-blown fibers exhibit a Shrinkage less than a Shrinkage measured on an identically-prepared structure including only fibers not subjected to the controlled in-flight heat treatment operation, and generally less than 15%.