Industry
Manufacturers use numerous technical textiles in their manufacturing process. The conveyor belts intended for the line transport of the granular materials in the chemical, agro-food, mining industries or cement work are made for example from elastomer and rubber coated textiles. Also, the driving belts of a big number of industrial plants consist of polymers strengthened of a supple textile composite.
Protection
Practically all the solutions of individual protection can be reconsidered thanks to the new properties that manage to offer light and comfortable technical textiles. Therefore, textile protects individuals from a big number of potential attacks today. It is used to fight against heat, fire, cold, risks for cuts, perforation and projection of dangerous products such as metals in fusion, solvents and chemical acids or flammable volatile materials. Textile is then used for the making of clothing, gloves and hoods which are intended for the servicemen, the fire department, the welders, the operators of electronic industries as well as the sportsmen such as race car drivers and mountaineers.
Medical & Hygiene
Thanks
to their
blocking effect,
their
absorption capacity,
their
biocompatibility and
their
immobilization capacity,
technical textiles meet many needs in the medical
sector. Because they meet the imperative needs
of water/air-tightness, resistance to splitting
and absence of coagulation in contact with
blood, they have been used for decades in the
composition of vascular, articular and ligamentary
prostheses.
Construction
In construction, alone or in composites, technical textiles compete through their lightness and their durability thanks to traditional materials such as wood, concrete and steel. They serve as heat or acoustic insulation, bardage, elements of handling, material of construction, taut architecture and as protection against fire , solar radiation and static electricity. Supple, the composites are constituted of fibres protected by a resin and coated to maintain waterproofness.
Sports and leisure
Because they improve comfort, safety and performances thanks to their lightness, their resistance to abrasion and to tears, their waterproofness and their permeability to perspiration, technical textiles find numerous applications in the field of the sport and leisure activities. They enter into the composition of more and more sophisticated clothing and adapted to each sports practice, weight gain and the improvement of the rigidity or the flexibility, thus allowing the optimising of the performances to the one who wears them. The conception of textile materials that are both waterproof and breathable opened the way to numerous outfits that improves the well being of the individuals. The structure of fabrics with bases of technical textiles also manages to make the overalls intended for runners and for swimmers very aerodynamic.
Transport
Because they improve comfort and safety, the technical textiles are very present in the vehicles of transport such as automobiles, trains, planes or ships. Coated or not, they serve for taking on the elements of the passenger compartment such as doors, seats, grounds or ceilings. They are then appreciated for their resistance to the UV, fire, tears, to stains and ageing as well as for their capacity of sound insulation and air filtration. Those that resist to the elongation benefit from controlled porosities or manage to bear the strong requests involved in the manufacturing of the safety belts, airbags or breaks. The calendaring of thermoplastic films and the polyvinyl chloride film lends itself to the finish of dashboards, doorkeepers' panels, rear of seats and sun visors.
Geotextile
In civil engineering, geotextiles improve the mechanical and hydraulic performance of the grounds. Used for structure support applications, they allow for the creation of foundations consisting of several ground layers and of synthetic layers. Within the framework of strengthened ballasts, they serve for increasing the bearing capacity of the ground. Interposed between two materials, such as clay and stone for instance, they prevent their mixture by playing the role of a separator. In the centres of waste storage, the devices of geomembrane waterproofness work in association with geotextiles.
