| abstract |
An irregularly shaped glass fiber (116) is provided which enjoys improved resiliency, and openness in pack structures. Wool packs (48) and other wool portions (148) having such irregularly shaped fibers (116) may be processed directly through needling (130) to form a nonwoven material (150) without intervening steps such as carding (132) or blending (134) of fibers (116) which accompany conventional glass fiber processing operations. In a further aspect of the invention, a nonwoven material (150) including irregularly shaped fibers (116) in a generally continuous wool tow (170) is produced by 'unwinding' a fiberglass wool pack (48) collected by a direct forming method. Product applications include simplified, lower cost processing, and new uses of the irregularly shaped fibers (116) produced by rotary fiberization in filtration elements (160, 162), sorbants, gaskets (166), packings, shingles (168), composite structural elements (153), furnishings, textiles, yarns (172), and blown-in insulation systems. |