The document presents a study on the enhancement of carpet wearability through the incorporation of low-melt yarn, resulting in a fivefold improvement in performance. It outlines various factors affecting carpet wear, such as yarn specifications, tuft construction, and the benefits of inserting low-melt yarns to reduce matting and improve clarity after significant use. Experimental data supports that low-melt yarn not only enhances durability but also decreases the need for excessive twist tension in manufacturing, balancing cost and performance.

1. Low Melt Yarn Development of Inserted Yarn Improves Carpet Wearability Fivefold

2. Overview of Nylon 6,6 Staple Fiber Carpet Manufacture (with low-melt yarn insertion) Solutia’s Staple Fiber Process Mill Customer’s Staple Yarn Process molten nylon Low-melt yarn (melt / flow / bind) Pensacola Foley drawtexturing cut & baled 600 lb bale blending (uniformity) low-melt insert yarn tufting carding & pinning spinning, winding & Inserting low-melt yarn ply twisting Suessen heatsetting (200 C for 55 sec) dyeing drying & latexing brushing & shearing

4. Cut-Pile Carpet after 20,000 Foot Traffics Plies flatten (lose their definition), and twist loosens!

5. Wear Mechanisms for Cut-Pile Carpets J. Southern, J. Yu, W. Baggett, and R. Miller, “Fundamental Physics of Carpet Performance,” Journal of Applied Polymer Science: Applied Polymer Symposium 47, 355-371 (1991) Professional walkers walk 18 miles/day. brushing to the side flattening compression “ matting” unlocks twist inter-tuft entanglement loss of endpoint definition Variables Impacting Wear Recovery Polymer type (e.g., nylon, PET, PP) Size of filaments Filament modulus Size of yarns (tufts) Tuft modulus Level of twist Permanence of twist set Tuft packing density Tuft locking agents Four days of walking is equivalent to One year of wear for a family of four!

6. Factorial Experiments Efficiently Sample Experimental Space Untrafficked Carpet Endpoint insert Degree of Wear Cotton Count (yarn size) Twist Multiple degree of wear Constants 24/32” PH, 5/32 ga, 50 oz weight, balanced twist Stitches vary with cc (2400 density) Additional Variables Insert (with & without) Fiber Type (1670 & 803) 36 carpets Cotton Count 2.75/2 3.0/2 3.25/2 Twist Multiple 2.70 3.0 3.3 4.5 4.3 4.9 4.7 5.2 5.6 5.5 6.1 6.0 2.5/2 3.5/2 2.5 3.5 Twist

7. Resin Impurties (Gels) Cause Spinning Problems 20 micron filtration increases spin pack life (1 day to 5 days)

8. Fused ends on the Low-Melt Spun Package Cause Breaks at Insertion and Reduce Yields Spin Cooler and Reduce Heat at Winder

9. Lower Melting Bonding Material 0.04 inches Electron Microscopy Views of Single Carpet Tufts Insert Yarn Melts in Processing and Fuses Together each of the Tuft’s Two Plies 0.02 inches Nylon Yarn Plies Low-Melt Yarn Binds the Tuft Plies Together

10. with Low-Melt Insert Yarn Without Insert Low-Melt Yarn Insertion Improves Tuft Endpoint and Resists Matting individual tufts top & side views after 20,000 foot steps

11. +75 Denier Insert Yarn +60 Denier Insert Yarn Controls without Insert Yarns Untrafficked Carpet Endpoint (Quad Assessment by Three Graders) Degree of Wear Quad Assessment ( 9 Carpet Design) Marker size reflects body level The Influence of Low-Melt Insert Yarns on Selected Carpet Properties Yarn & Carpet Construction Features 3.5/2 cc, 5.0 x 5.0 tpi 48 ox cut pile, 18/32“ Pile Height Textured Style 4.0 3.0 4.0 3.3 4.0 3.0 5.0 5.0 4.5 Appearance Retention 20,000 foot traffics

12. Traffic Levels ( foot steps) (20,000 traffics equals one year’s traffic for family of four) 5,000 Not Inserted Inserted with Low-Melt Yarn Yarn & Carpet Construction Features 3.75/2 cc, 5.5 x 7.0 tpi 50 oz cut pile, 24/32” Pile Height Textured Style Carpet Wear Improves with Low-Melt Yarn Insertion 10,000 15,000 20,000 10 20 30 40 Degree of Wear Quad Assessment (10 Carpet Design) 4.0 4.0 3.5 3.0 3.0 4.0 4.5 4.5 5.0 5.0 Appearance Retention

13. Degree of Wear Quad Assessment (12 Carpet Design) Untrafficked Carpet Endpoint (Quad Assessment) Increasing Twist Improves Wear & Endpoint but Adds Cost to the Mill; the Low-Melt Insert Requires Less Twist 5.25 x 5.25 TPI 2.81 twist multiple 5.00 x 5.00 TPI 2.67 twist multiple 4.75 x 4.75 TPI 2.54 twist multiple 4.50 x 4.50 TPI 2.41 twist multiple 5.25 x 4.45 TPI 2.81 twist multiple 4.85 x 4.10TPI 2.59 twist multiple Low-Melt Insert No Insert Yarn Construction Features 3.5/2 cc 48 oz cut pile, 18/32” Pile Height Textured Style

14. EndPoint Ranking (Untrafficked Carpet) Direct Relationship between Carpet EndPoint and Carpet Wear (nylon 66 use copolymer A inserts and nylon 6 use copolymer B inserts) 20K Contract Walker Ranking Staple / N6 insert blended within Ply tight construction, Sue SB 3296 oz/yd 3 density 2537 denier, 6.5 tpi 24/32”PH, 112 tufts/in 2 Staple / N66 not inserted tight construction, Sue SB 3715 oz/yd 3 density 1631 denier, 7.6 tpi 19/32”PH, 144 tufts/in 2 Staple / N6 not inserted tight construction, Sue SB 2789 oz/yd 3 density 1907 denier, 5.3 tpi 20/32”PH, 116 tufts/in 2 BCF / N66 not inserted tight construction, Sup SB 2729 oz/yd 3 density 2104 denier, 5.3 tpi 17/32”PH, 104 tufts/in 2 Staple / N66 inserted between Plys loose construction, Sue SB 3008 oz/yd 3 density 2820 denier, 5.7 tpi 27/32”PH, 88 tufts/in 2 BCF / N66 not inserted very loose construction, Sup SB 1910 oz/yd 3 density 1511 denier, 6.8 tpi 27/32”PH, 100 tufts/in 2 Bubble Size Indicates Hand (the smaller, the harsher the hand) BCF / N66 not inserted tight construction, Sup SB 3429 oz/yd 3 density 1390 denier, 6.9 tpi 22/32”PH, 208 tufts/in 2 Staple / N66 inserted between Plys semi loose construction, Sue SB 2957 oz/yd 3 density 2314 denier, 6.3 tpi 19/32”PH, 84 tufts/in 2 Staple / N6 inserted between Plys tight construction, Sup SB 2765 oz/yd 3 density 1811 denier, 6.5 tpi 23/32”PH, 148 tufts/in 2 BCF / N6 not inserted loose construction, Sup SB 2743 oz/yd 3 density 1908 denier, 7.3 tpi 20/32”PH, 160 tufts/in 2

15. Summary SPIDER Diagram Contrasting Properties for Inserted and Non-inserted Carpets Texture Quality Hand Soiling 1 2 3 4 5 0 - - - + ++ Endpoint Floor Performance(AR) Fuzz & Bearding Body Mill Processability - - - ++ + Scale: Much Better ++ Better + No Difference 0 Worse - Much Worse - - AR is scaled using conventional grading standards (1 = Best). Low-Melt Inserted Not Inserted