Development of Lightweight, Recyclable Low Cost, Nonwoven Cloth Duck Material

The main objective of this Phase I SBIR project is to design and develop lightweight, low cost, engineered and multi-layered nonwoven composite fabrics made of nylon, para-armid and recycled fibers and their blends to potentially displace the current heavy and bulky nylon duck fabrics used by the military for armor vests and equipage items. The main approach would be to produce and test various needle punched and subsequently spunlaced nonwoven composite fabrics for physical and mechanical properties. The target basis weight of the fabric will be 4 to 5 oz/sq.yd. with a breaking strength of 325 lbs in the machine and 225 lbs in the cross direction. The tearing strength target will be in excess of 30 lbs in both directions. The nonwoven fabrics will be designed to have similar hand, thickness, abrasion resistance, and hydrostatic water resistance (WR) as that of nylon duck cloth material with consideration of limited flame-retardant (FR) without melt-dripping. The nonwoven fabrics will be dyed, printed and treated with finishing chemicals to impart resistance to petroleum, oil and lubricant (POL) resistance. A replenishing silver ion based antimicrobial fiber will be added to the fiber blend to prevent the growth of mold and mildew on the fabric