Performance Solutions E-News
Fall, 2002

HIGH PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS FOR DEMANDING APPLICATIONS

       Thank you for your positive response of National Nonwovens’ first technical newsletter and your encouraging support of our product, material, and marketing developments. In this second, encore edition of Performance Solutions E-News, the theme focuses on these leading-edge developments and our adaptability to emerging needs and applications.

Atvantage^® Composite Insulating Cores
Advanced Performance - engineered from the inside out

Advanced textile technology produces moldable, needled, fiber-supported, nonwoven insulating cores. Improved, high performance materials are engineered for specific end uses to provide thermal insulation, strength, flame retardancy, and acoustic attenuation, while achieving a balance between product performance, life, and cost.

Applications Include:

	Aerospace: commercial • military • outerspace • business/private
	Construction: military shelters • cables/wires
	Marine: military • submarine • commercial • recreation
	Vehicles: automotive • mass transit • military • recreational • rail
	Appliances: ovens • furnaces • electronics  • generators

Composite Insulating Core (CIC):

CIC’s superior design offers exceptional insulating properties where stability in high temperature environments is required. CIC is a structured fiber array; constructed using advanced manufacturing techniques to be self-supporting without chemical or woven fabric enhancements.

CIC Passes Tough Industry Standards:

	FAR 25.853: 60 Second Vertical Burn test
	BAC-5564: Flammability • Heat Release • Smoke Density
	U.L. 94 HB: Horizontal Burn Test

Five Styles For Many Unique Applications:

	CIC001 – pliable. Lightweight with low density and an insulating batting.
	CIC002 & CIC006 – stable. Consistent Z-axis integrity provides uniform thickness and density.
	CIC003 – resilient. Rapid compressive recovery ensuring surface uniformity.
	CIC004 – machinable. Dense formidable construction yielding unique compressive strength

CIC006 – Recent tests prove it’s the best composite insulation in the Industry!

Unbeatable Performance. National Nonwovens improved Composite Insulating Core, Style: CIC006, results in a Velcro® compatible, advanced material.  Atvantage^® style CIC006 underwent standardized sound absorption and thermal conductivities tests to see how we compared to the current competitive materials.  The results are phenomenal!  The benefits to you… proven superior performance.  CIC006 is an innovative solution for your requirements.  

Testing Methods

Sound Absorption Sound level reduction capabilities attributed to the sound absorbing qualities of a material.

Test Method: ASTM C423-01
Definition: Covers the measurement of sound absorption in a reverberation room by measuring decay rate.

Thermal Conductivity Proportional, constant rate in which heat pans through the material in a vertical direction.

Test Method: ASTM C518-98
Definition: Covers the measurement of steady state thermal transmission through flat slab specimens using heat flow meter apparatus.

Test Results - Style CIC006 17 oz. (Style: CIC006 34 oz. test results)

Sound Absorption

Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC): 0.25 Thermal Conductivity:  0.219 Btu - in/hr - °F - ft2 Thermal Resistance:  1.14 hr - °F - ft2/Btu

Advantages: Higher sound absorption coefficient results Less noise is transmitted through material resulting in an acoustic insulation product that promotes quieter environments Excellent absorbing properties when compared to fiberglass batting and foams Excellent thermal conductivity results Lower thermal conductivity Less heat or cold is conducted through material resulting in a more temperature stable environment Competitive advantages of CIC006 Material offers better sound absorption and lower conductivity at the same weight NRC sound absorption coefficient is 25% better than existing Nomex® nonwovens Construction is more uniform and consistent

The SPOTLIGHT
 Dedication to R&D results in customized solutions 

Answer:  Energetic, dedicated, motivated, and sometimes obsessive.   

Question:   Describe National Nonwovens’ Research & Technology Development team

Running product trials in the middle of the night at National Nonwovens’ Easthampton, Massachusetts manufacturing facility is common for R&D Engineers.  Interrupting production schedules for product trials may not always be feasible, but that doesn’t stop this team from making critical tests to improve products and create new styles.  

The R&D team is enthusiastically supported by National Nonwovens entire organization, especially from the executive staff, where quick response to customized requirements is top priority.  

Our engineers take pride that they develop high performance product solutions for specific end uses using a myriad of materials including wool, cotton, polyester, polypropylene, acrylics, nylon, rayon, aramids, acetate, modacrylic, PBI, as well as variety of technologies available within one company.  Utilizing needlepunching equipment, materials are physically interlocked into cross-lapped layers of well blended and carded fibers to create products with particular properties. Additional characteristics can also be added through chemical, composite construction, and thermobonding along with a full-range of in-house finishing options.

Nonwovens continue to find important and new uses in almost every market ranging from Aerospace to Recreation.  With each new challenge and opportunity, National Nonwovens’ R&D team stands ready to deliver cost effective, quality solutions.

NBAA 2002 - Travel Solutions for the Global Market

NBAA Meeting & Convention, Booth 452
September 10 – 12, 2002
Orlando, FL

National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) kicks off its annual meeting and convention in just a few short weeks on September 10, 11, 12, 2002, in Orlando, Florida.  All decisionmakers in business aviation -- pilots, flight department managers, maintenance managers, dispatchers, schedulers, flight attendants, chief financial officers, chief operating officers and chief executive officers -- are represented year after year at the NBAA Annual Meeting & Convention.

The world's largest purely civil aviation event will occupy over one million square feet of contiguous exhibit space in the entire Orange County Convention Center. Orlando Executive Airport will host the Static Display of Aircraft.   National Nonwovens’ will feature several important product solutions at the convention:

	Atvantage® Engineered for specific end uses, Atvantage® provides compressive strength, flame retardancy, acoustic attenuation, and thermal insulation, while achieving a balance between product performance, life, and cost.  Atvantage® is available in a structural core and an insulating core. CIC006 – Proven the best composite insulating core in the industry
	ProTechtor®   - Engineered for maximum ballistic, stab, and puncture protection with superior blast containment properties.  Style CBS002 is qualified for FAA Flight Deck Penetration Resistance
	Printable Nonwovens: Style: PRT009  - Intensifies vibrant three-dimensional effects on molded-in graphics, providing a dramatic appearance that is suitable for many diverse applications.