Patent 7438777 was granted and assigned to North Carolina State University on October, 2008 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A method of producing a nonwoven fabric comprising spinning a set of bicomponent fibers which include an external fiber component and an internal fiber component. The external fiber enwraps said internal fiber and has a higher elongation to break value than the internal fiber and a lower melting temperature than the internal fiber component. The set of bicomponent fibers are positioned onto a web and thermally bonded to produce a nonwoven fabric.