Composite Fibers and Method of Producing Fibers

Abstract

Composite fibers created by a process including vertically texturizing and impregnating resin into the fibers at controlled viscosity results in stronger fibers in which virtually no microbubbles are trapped resulting in improved tensile strength for use in reinforcing concrete and other materials.

1 . Composite fibers made by a method of producing composite fibers, said method comprising:
 feeding a plurality of fiber strands vertically down through a texturizer to obtain texturized fibers, wherein the texturized fibers are unstrained;   vertically feeding the texturized fibers down through an injection device;   injecting resin into the injection device at a viscosity of 5 mPa*S or less;   rotating the plurality of fibers in the injection device, effective to twist the fibers into a bundle, wherein the twisting point is below the level of resin in the injection device, and wherein at least a portion of trapped gases rise to the surface of the resin;   squeezing the bundle with squeezing rollers inside the injection device, wherein the trapped gases to rise to the surface of the resin;   removing the bundle from the bottom of the device by pulling the bundle;   pulling the bundle into a first curing station;   pulling the bundle through shaping grips in which the shaping grips are adapted to:
 (i) pull the bundle from the first curing station, 
 (ii) impart a shape to the bundle and 
 (iii) push the bundle without tension out of the shaping grips; and 
   pushing the bundle from the shaping grips through a second curing station without tensioning the bundle.   
     
     
         2 . The composite fibers of  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises the step of pushing the bundle from the second curing station to a cutter and cutting the bundle into fragments of a specified length. 
     
     
         3 . The composite fibers of  claim 2 , wherein the fragments are cut to a length for use in at least one of: reinforcing concretes, mortars, soil stabilizing polymers, geo-polymers, or asphalts. 
     
     
         4 . Concrete, mortar, soil stabilizing polymer, geo-polymer, or asphalt containing composite fibers of  claim 3 . 
     
     
         5 . Fibers produced by a method comprising:
 vertically feeding a plurality of unstrained texturized fibers down through a device;   injecting resin into the device at a viscosity of from 1 to 5 mPa*S;   rotating the plurality of fibers effective to twist all the fibers into a bundle, wherein the twisting point is below the level of resin in the device, and wherein at least a portion of trapped gases rise to the surface of the resin;   squeezing the bundle with squeezing rollers inside the device, wherein trapped gases rise to the surface of the resin;   removing the bundle from the bottom of the device by pulling the bundle through tension rollers;   pulling the bundle into a first curing station;   pulling the bundle through shaping grips that pull the bundle from the first curing station, impart a shape to the bundle and push the bundle without tension out of the shaping grips; and   pushing the bundle from the shaping grips through a second curing station without tensioning the bundle.   
     
     
         6 . The fibers of  claim 5 , wherein the method further comprises the step of pushing the bundle from the second curing station to a cutter and cutting the bundle into fragments of a specified length. 
     
     
         7 . The fibers of  claim 5 , wherein the method further comprises the step of rotating the bundle in the device effective to achieve a configuration of from about 5 plies per inch to about 25 plies per inch. 
     
     
         8 . The fibers of  claim 5 , wherein the resin is supplied to the device at required viscosity by passing through a viscosity stabilizer that is directly connected to a resin metering mixing device. 
     
     
         9 . The fibers of  claim 5 , wherein the bundle is partially cured in the first curing station to achieve a viscosity of about 10 6  Pa*S. 
     
     
         10 . The fibers of  claim 5 , wherein the shaping grips impart a wave structure to the bundle. 
     
     
         11 . The fibers of  claim 5 , wherein the shaping grips impart a square wave structure to the bundle. 
     
     
         12 . The fibers of  claim 5 , wherein the fragments are cut to a length for use in at least one of:
 reinforcing concretes, mortars, soil stabilizing polymers, geo-polymers, or asphalts.   
     
     
         13 . The fibers of  claim 5 , wherein the fibers comprise at least one of: igneous rock fibers, carbon fibers, aramid, para-aramid or meta-aramid fibers or glass fibers. 
     
     
         14 . The fibers of  claim 5 , wherein the fibers comprise igneous rock fibers selected from at least one of: feldspars, quartz, feldspathoids, olivines, pyroxenes, amphiboles, or micas. 
     
     
         15 . The fibers of  claim 5 , wherein the fibers comprise basalt fibers. 
     
     
         16 . The fibers of  claim 5 , wherein the fibers exhibit an intrabatch tensile strength with a variation of no more than 5%. 
     
     
         17 . An apparatus for processing fibers in a continuous process, said apparatus comprising:
 one or more devices for holding a basalt fiber roving spool;   a rotating table disposed below the one or more devices for holding a basalt roving spool;   one or more air flow texturizers disposed below the rotating table;   a resin injection device disposed below said texturizers;   a resin stabilizer in fluid connection with said resin injection device;   a resin mixing and metering device in fluid communication with said resin stabilizer;   a tensioning roller disposed below the resin injection device;   a first curing tunnel downstream of the tensioning roller;   a second curing tunnel downstream of the first curing tunnel;   shaping grips disposed between said first curing tunnel and said second curing tunnel, adapted to pull a bundle of fibers from the first curing station, impart a shape to the bundle and push the bundle into said second curing station without tensioning the bundle; and   a cutting station downstream of said second curing tunnel.