Short metal fibers

• US 20060143882A1
• Filed: 03/01/2006
• Published: 07/06/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: NV Bekaert SA
• Original Assignee: NV Bekaert SA
• Inventors: Losfeld, Ronny, Anaf, Lieven
• Application Number:
  US11/364,184
• Publication Number:
  US 20060143882A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 29/4.530
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 39/2044 sintered or bonded by inorganic agents
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 39/2048 otherwise bonded
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 35/56 Foraminous structures having flow-through passages or channels, e.g. grids or three-dimensional monoliths
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 35/58 Fabrics or filaments
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 1/062 Fibrous particles
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 2009/046 by cutting
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 2998/00 Supplementary information concerning processes or compositions relating to powder metallurgy
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 3/002 Manufacture of articles essentially made from metallic fibres
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 5/007 of moulds
• CPC Class Codes: B23P 17/06 Making steel wool or the like
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/526 characterised by the length of the fibers
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/5264 characterised by the diameter of the fibers
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/96 Properties of ceramic products, e.g. mechanical properties such as strength, toughness, wear resistance
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/9607 Thermal properties, e.g. thermal expansion coefficient
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 35/488 Composites
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 35/76 Fibres, filaments, whiskers, platelets, or the like
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 35/80 Fibres, filaments, whiskers, platelets, or the like
• CPC Class Codes: C22C 47/025 Aligning or orienting the fibres
• CPC Class Codes: F28D 17/02 using rigid bodies, e.g. of porous material
• CPC Class Codes: F28F 21/082 from steel or ferrous alloys
• CPC Class Codes: F28F 2255/18 : sintered
• CPC Class Codes: F28F 7/02 : Blocks traversed by passages for heat-exchange media F28D7/0008 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 165/907 : Porous
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/143 : Shaving or longitudinal cutting
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/147 : Metal wool bundling
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/12424 : Mass of only fibers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/12431 : Foil or filament smaller than 6 mils
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/249924 : Noninterengaged fiber-containing paper-free web or sheet which is not of specified porosity
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/249928 : Fiber embedded in a ceramic, glass, or carbon matrix
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/249931 : Free metal or alloy fiber
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/249962 : Void-containing component has a continuous matrix of fibers only [e.g., porous paper, etc.]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/249967 : Inorganic matrix in void-containing component
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/2913 : Rod, strand, filament or fiber
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 442/60 : Nonwoven fabric [i.e., nonwoven strand or fiber material]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 442/654 : Including a free metal or alloy constituent
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 442/655 : Metal or metal-coated strand or fiber material

Abstract

The present invention relates to short metal fibers. A set of short metal fibers, with an equivalent diameter ranging from 1 to 150 μm, comprises entangled and curved fibers. At least 10% of the short metal fibers are entangled, whereas the length of the curved fibers is distributed according to a gamma-distribution, having an average length preferably between 10 and 2000 μm.

Claims

1. A method to provide a set of short metal fibers, comprising the steps of:

individualizing the metal fibers by a carding operation;

providing the set of short metal fibers by cutting or entangling and sieving the set of short metal fibers.

2. A method to provide a set of short metal fibers as in claim 1, said providing the set of short metal fibers by cutting or entangling and sieving the set of short metal fibers is done using a comminuting machine.