Modified fiber, yarn and woven materials, methods of manufacture and uses thereof

Abstract

A fiber material and/or yarn is described that includes: a) at least one staple fiber component; b) at least one base fiber component, wherein the at least one staple fiber component is at least about 50% shorter in length than the at least one base fiber component and wherein each of the at least one staple fiber component and the at least one base fiber component has at least one melting point. Methods are also provided herein that include: a) providing at least one staple fiber component having at least one melting point; b) providing at least one base fiber component having at least one melting point, wherein at least one of the melting points of the staple fiber component is lower than at least one of the melting points of the base fiber component; c) mixing the at least one staple fiber component with the base fiber component to form a blend material; d) processing the blend material to form a fiber bundle or a yarn bundle; and e) applying a thermal energy source to the fiber bundle or yarn bundle to form the modified fiber bundle and/or yarn bundle.

1 . A fiber material comprising: 
 at least one staple fiber component; and    at least one base fiber component, wherein the at least one staple fiber component is at least about 50% shorter in length than the at least one base fiber component and wherein each of the at least one staple fiber component and the at least one base fiber component comprise at least one melting point.    
     
     
         2 . The fiber material of  claim 1 , wherein at least part of the staple fiber component is physically bound to at least part of the at least one base fiber component.  
     
     
         3 . The fiber material of  claim 1 , wherein at least part of the staple fiber component is chemically bound to at least part of the at least one base fiber component.  
     
     
         4 . The fiber material of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one staple fiber comprises natural or synthetic materials.  
     
     
         5 . The fiber material of  claim 4 , wherein the at least one staple fiber comprises a polyamide-based compound, a polyester-based compound or copolymer, wool, cotton, PET, PTT, polyolefins, or a combination thereof.  
     
     
         6 . The fiber material of  claim 5 , wherein the polyamide-based compound comprises nylon-6 or nylon-6,6.  
     
     
         7 . The fiber material of  claim 5 , wherein the polyolefin comprises polyethylene or polypropylene.  
     
     
         8 . The fiber material of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one staple fiber component is at least about 70% shorter in length than the at least one base fiber component.  
     
     
         9 . The fiber material of  claim 8 , wherein the at least one staple fiber component is at least about 90% shorter in length than the at least one base fiber component.  
     
     
         10 . The fiber material of  claim 1 , wherein the melting point of at least part of the at least one staple fiber is lower than the melting point of at least part of the at least one base fiber.  
     
     
         11 . A fiber bundle comprising the fiber material of  claim 1 .  
     
     
         12 . A yarn comprising the fiber material of  claim 1 .  
     
     
         13 . A method of forming a modified fiber material, comprising: 
 providing at least one staple fiber component having at least one melting point;    providing at least one base fiber component having at least one melting point, wherein at least one of the melting points of the staple fiber component is lower than at least one of the melting points of the base fiber component;    mixing the at least one staple fiber component with the base fiber component to form a blend material;    processing the blend material to form a fiber bundle or a yarn bundle; and    applying a thermal energy source to the fiber bundle or yarn bundle to form the modified fiber bundle and/or yarn bundle.    
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein at least part of the staple fiber component is physically bound to at least part of the at least one base fiber component.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein at least part of the staple fiber component is chemically bound to at least part of the at least one base fiber component.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one staple fiber comprises natural or synthetic materials.  
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one staple fiber comprises a polyamide-based compound, a polyester-based compound or copolymer, wool, cotton, PET, PTT, polyolefins, or a combination thereof.  
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the polyamide-based compound comprises nylon-6 or nylon-6,6.  
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the polyolefin comprises polyethylene or polypropylene.  
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the at least one staple fiber component is at least about 70% shorter in length than the at least one base fiber component.  
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the at least one staple fiber component is at least about 90% shorter in length than the at least one base fiber component.  
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the melting point of at least part of the at least one staple fiber is lower than the melting point of at least part of the at least one base fiber.  
     
     
         23 . A fiber bundle produced by the method of  claim 13 .  
     
     
         24 . A yarn produced from the method of  claim 13.