Glass fiber mat for reinforcing polyamides

Claim 1

A bonded mat of randomly disposed, multifilament glass strands of indeterminate length especially adapted for use as reinforcement in stampable laminates of polyamide resin, where the individual glass filaments of said strands are sized with a mixture of an amine-functional organosilane and an amide reaction product of a fatty acid with an aliphatic polyamine, said reaction product having residual amine functionality, and where said strands are bonded to each other with a binder consisting essentially of the dried residue of an aqueous dispersion of emulsified polyurethane or epoxy resin having average particle size of at least about 0.6 μm and an amine-functional organosilane.

Claim 7

A method of making a bonded mat of glass strands of indeterminate length, said mat being especially adapted for use as reinforcement in stampable laminates of polyamide resin, which comprises: a. continuously drawing a plurality of glass filaments from a body of molten glass as it emerges through a corresponding plurality of orifices in a suitable bushing forming a portion of a reservoir for said body of molten glass; b. applying the surfaces of said filaments as they are being so drawn on aqueous sizing composition comprising an amine-functional organosilane and an amide reaction product of a fatty acid and an aliphatic polyamine, said reaction product having residual amine functionality; c. gathering said glass filaments into one or more multifilament strands of indeterminate lengths; d. disposing a said strand substantially randomly onto a suitable support to form a web therefrom; e. impregnating said web with a binder composition consisting essentially of amine-functional organosilane and emulsified polyurethane or epoxy resin having average particle size of at least about 0.6 μm dispersed in aqueous medium; f. removing any undesired excess of the liquid binder composition from the impregnated web; and g. then heating the impregnated web to remove volatile components therefrom and to enhance the adhesion of the dried residue of said binder composition to said strands for bonding said strands to each other.

Claim 8

A method of making a bonded mat of glass strands of indeterminate length, said mat being especially adapted for use as reinforcement in stampable laminates of polyamide resin, which comprises: a. continuously drawing a plurality of glass filaments from a body of molten glass as it emerges through a corresponding plurality of orifices in a suitable bushing forming a portion of a reservoir for said body of molten glass; b. applying the surfaces of said filaments as they are being so drawn on aqueous sizing composition comprising an amine-functional organosilane and an amide reaction product of a fatty acid and an aliphatic polyamine, said reaction product having residual amine functionality; c. gathering said glass filaments into one or more multifilament strands of indeterminate lengths; d. disposing a said strand substantially randomly onto a suitable support to form a web therefrom; e. impregnating said web with a binder composition consisting essentially of amine-functional organosilane and emulsified polyurethane or epoxy resin having average particle size of at least about 0.6 μm dispersed in aqueous medium; f. removing any undesired excess of the liquid binder composition from the impregnated web; and g. then heating the impregnated web to remove volatile components therefrom and to enhance the adhesion of the dried residue of said binder composition to said strands for bonding said strands to each other.