Polymeric articles filled with glass fibers are prepared by methods used in paper making, starting from aqueous dispersions of glass fibers with polyolefinic fibrils having a high surface area, by deposition in sheets, drying and pressure-molding, optionally after bonding the sheets in a sandwich-like manner with an intermediate thermoplastic polymeric plate, not containing glass fibers, and having a modulus of flexure lower than that of the glass fibers contained in such sheets, so as to thermoweld said plate to the sheets.

Microcellular ceramic material comprises a plurality of elongated vitreous micro sized ceramic rods which are placed in side-by-side touching relation and define elongated lines of contact therebetween. The rods also define interstices therebetween which may be void or may be filled or substantially filled with vitreous fibers, polymer materials, acid soluble or insoluble vitreous fibers and other suitable fibers. The rod mass either so filled or unfilled is first fused at the lines of rod contact by elevated temperature and is then annealed to cause the ceramic fibers to crystallize and form an elongated porous crystalline log. The log is then sectioned transversely or linearly to form thin wafers which in turn are built up in layers which are fused to form useful integral composite cellular objects. Through use of selectively arranged colored fibers the transversely sectioned wafers will have controlled microdots of color to provide the object with controlled color characteristics. Where polymer material is employed to fill the interstices, it may contain color pigments to achieve desired color characteristics.

The present invention relates to a granulated thermoplastic polymer composition comprising granules incorporating 0.1-50% (vol) fiber bundles. The fiber bundles have a three dimensional orientation in each of the granules, and each fiber bundle contains at least 100 fibers. The present invention also relates to a process for producing a granulated thermoplastic polymer composition containing non-dispersed fiber bundles comprising the steps of mixing a thermoplastic polymer with fiber bundles at a sheer stress low enough to prevent the fiber bundles from falling apart, and the forming granules. A temperature of a dosage point where the fiber bundles are added to the thermoplastic polymer is below a processing temperature of the thermoplastic polymer. Each granule comprises 0.1 to 50% (vol) of the fiber bundles. The fiber bundles have a three dimensional orientation in each granule, and each fiber bundle contains at least 100 fibers.

An oriented continuous strand mat of glass fiber filaments is formed by interleaved layers of generally circular or random loops and elongated elliptical loops having their longitudinal axes positioned in the direction of travel of an endless conveyor upon which the glass fibers are deployed to form a mat useable in a stampable glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic resin sheet having increased tensile strength in the length of the sheet. An elongated deflector plate having a planar deflecting surface whose length is aligned with the direction of conveyor travel, and whose face plane is generally perpendicular thereto receives pulled strands which have passed through an air flow nozzle and forms the strands into the elongated elliptical loops used to make the mat.

A wind-resistant shingle and a method of making it is provided in which the rear surface of the shingle is provided with an attached reinforcement layer, which resists upwardly wind-applied bending torque when the shingle is installed on a roof, such that the failure of the shingle when it is bent beyond its elastic limit, is resisted until the shingle has absorbed a high percentage of applied torque.