Antistatic Fabric Containing Polyetherimide Filaments

Abstract

The present disclosure is directed to a woven fabric comprising filament yarns. The filament yarns may be comprised of a polyetherimide polymer. The woven fabric may provide flame resistance as well as static/anti-static control. The woven fabric can be employed to provide garments, such as protective garments for a cleanroom.

1 . A woven fabric comprising:
 a first yarn comprising a polyetherimide polymer filament fiber, wherein the polyetherimide polymer is present in the fabric in an amount of greater than 10 wt. %.   
     
     
         2 . A woven fabric as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the polyetherimide polymer is present in the fabric in an amount of greater than about 50 wt. %. 
     
     
         3 . A woven fabric as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the first yarn is a multifilament yarn. 
     
     
         4 . A woven fabric as defined in  claim 3 , wherein the multifilament yarn is comprised of from about 5 to about 75 filament fibers. 
     
     
         5 . A woven fabric as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the first yarn has a denier rating of from about 10 to about 1000. 
     
     
         6 . A woven fabric as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the polyetherimide polymer has a density of from about 1.2 g/cm 3  to about 1.5 g/cm 3  and a molecular weight of from about 10,000 g/mol to about 150,000 g/mol. 
     
     
         7 . A woven fabric as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the fabric further comprises a second yarn comprising at least one filament fiber not present in the first yarn, the second yarn being present in the fabric in an amount of from about 0.1 wt. % to about 10 wt. %. 
     
     
         8 . A woven fabric as defined in  claim 7 , wherein the second yarn further comprises a polyetherimide filament fiber. 
     
     
         9 . A woven fabric as defined in  claim 7 , wherein the second yarn is woven into the fabric as a bundle comprising from 2 to 10 filament fibers. 
     
     
         10 . A woven fabric as defined in  claim 7 , wherein the second yarn has a denier rating of from about 20 to about 100. 
     
     
         11 . A woven fabric as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the fabric further comprises a carbon fiber. 
     
     
         12 . A woven fabric as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the fabric further comprises a bicomponent fiber. 
     
     
         13 . A woven fabric as defined in  claim 12 , wherein the bicomponent fiber is a polyester/carbon bicomponent fiber. 
     
     
         14 . A woven fabric as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the fabric has a weight of from about 2 osy to about 8 osy. 
     
     
         15 . A woven fabric as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the woven fabric includes a warp yarn and a fill yarn, the warp yarn and the fill yarn comprising the polyetherimide polymer. 
     
     
         16 . A woven fabric as defined in  claim 7 , wherein the second yarn is present in the fabric at least every 40 ends. 
     
     
         17 . A woven fabric as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the woven fabric has a ripstop weave, a twill weave, a plain weave, an oxford weave, or a basket weave. 
     
     
         18 . A woven fabric as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the woven fabric has from about 30 to about 85 ends per inch and from about 30 to about 90 picks per inch. 
     
     
         19 . A woven fabric as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the fabric exhibits a static decay of less than about 2 seconds when measured according to FTM 4046. 
     
     
         20 . A woven fabric as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the fabric exhibits a surface resistivity of from about 1×10 5  ohms/square to about 1×10 12  ohms/square when measured according to AATCC76. 
     
     
         21 . A woven fabric as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the fabric has a char length of less than about 6 inches in at least one direction when tested according to ASTM Test D6413. 
     
     
         22 . A woven fabric as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the fabric exhibits a particle emission rate of less than 12,000 particles/minutes when measuring particles having a size of 0.5 um and greater according to IEST RP CC0003.4. 
     
     
         23 . A woven fabric as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the fabric further comprises a dye or a pigment. 
     
     
         24 . A woven fabric as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the fabric is substantially free of a polyamide. 
     
     
         25 . A woven fabric as defined in  claim 1 , wherein the fabric is substantially free of a spun yarn. 
     
     
         26 . A protective garment comprising the woven fabric of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         27 . A protective garment according to  claim 26 , wherein the garment is a cleanroom garment.