Textile fabrics made from aramid fibers and the use thereof for the production of e.g. antiballistically effective textile fabrics are known. These fabrics commonly contain aramid fibers which were provided during the production thereof with a finish that comprises a polyglycol ester of oleic acid. A finish of this type is available under the trade name Leomin OR from Clariant, Germany. U.S. Pat. No. 4,652,488 describes the finishing of aramid fibers with Leomin OR.
When textile fabrics made from aramid fibers are processed for the production of an antiballistic article, which must, even in the wet state, include the antiballistic effect required of said article, then it is necessary to finish the textile fabric made from aramid fibers with water repellent. However, if one provides a textile fabric which is made from aramid fibers which are finished with a polyglycol ester of oleic acid with a water-repellent finish, then the textile fabric in the wet state has only the insufficient, low v50 values of a textile fabric comprising aramid fibers which does not have a water-repellent finish. Therefore, it has been necessary up until now, prior to the application of the water-repellent finish on the textile fabric made from aramid fibers, to remove the finish comprising a polyglycol ester of oleic acid up to a residual content of ≧0.1 wt. % and then to mask the finish still remaining. The method required for this consists of the following steps:                1) Insertion of the textile fabric, in general a woven delivered in a roll form, into a washing machine (jigger);        2) Filling the jigger with fresh water;        3) Heating the fresh water to 80° C.;        4) Adding a surfactant suitable for washing off the finish;        5) Pre-washing in 2 passes, wherein each pass consists of                    51) Unrolling the woven from the roll,            52) Feeding the woven through the surfactant/water mixture,            53) Winding the woven up on an additional roll,            54) Unrolling the woven from the additional roll,            55) Feeding the woven through the surfactant/water mixture,            56) Winding the woven up on the roll;                        6) Draining the wash water from the jigger;        7) Filling the jigger with fresh water;        8) Heating the fresh water to 80° C.;        9) Adding a surfactant suitable for washing off the finish;        10) Rewashing in 10 passes, wherein each pass consists of the above mentioned steps 51 to 56;        11) Draining the wash water from the jigger;        12) Filling the jigger with fresh water;        13) Heating the fresh water to 80° C.;        14) Rinsing in 3 passes, wherein each pass consists of the steps corresponding to the above mentioned steps 51 to 56;        15) Draining the rinse water;        16) Filling the jigger with fresh water;        17) Heating the fresh water to 80° C.;        18) Adding a means for masking the finish remaining on the woven;        19) 10 masking passes, wherein each pass consists of the steps corresponding to the above mentioned steps 51 to 56;        20) Draining the water containing the masking means from the jigger;        21) Filling the jigger with fresh water;        22) Heating the fresh water to 80° C.;        23) Rinsing in 4 passes, wherein each pass consists of the steps corresponding to the above mentioned steps 51 to 56;        24) Removal of the roll with the woven from the jigger;        25) Passing of the woven through a drying oven at 170° C. with a residence time of the woven in the oven of approximately 60 seconds;        
As mentioned above, to achieve the required v50 values up until now, it was not until after undergoing the aforementioned washing and masking process that one could begin to finish the textile fabric made from aramid fibers with water repellent, i.e.                feeding the fabric through a bath of water and a water-repellent means,        squeezing out the fabric,        drying the fabric, and        heat treating the fabric.        
The above mentioned washing and masking process is not only very costly with regard to the time, energy, and amount of water required, but also additionally requires a considerable effort in quality control. If the quality control determines after step 15) that the residual amount of the finish is >0.1 wt. %, then at least some of steps 1) to 15) must be repeated often enough to achieve the allowed residual amount of finish of ≦0.1 wt. %.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds