Processing carbon fiber-reinforced composites into corner sections through compression molding poses challenges due to the limited flowability of continuous prepregs, resulting in reduced curved beam strength (CBS). The use of discontinuous plies was explored, including random HexMC and unidirectional chopped strand (CS) prepreg. A first comparison on flat UD or Quasi Iso (QI) plates highlighted the potential interest of CS in terms of stiffness and lower strength penalty as HexMC. The iso-thickness corners produced from HexMC reached a CBS of 1 kN while CS QI had a CBS of 2.5 kN, overperforming corners made from neat prepregs (2.1kN) thanks to the improved flowability of the CS. By selecting an optimized geometry at equivalent mass, the CBS of CS corners further increased to 6.6kN. The performance of composite corners can thus be greatly enhanced by a combination of the material microstructural arrangement and the geometrical design of the mold.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in shortages of personal protective equipment and medical devices in the initial phase. Agile small and medium-sized enterprises from regional textile industries reacted quickly. They delivered alternative products such as textile-based community masks in collaboration with industrial partners and research institutes from various sectors. The current mask materials and designs were further improved by integrating textiles with antiviral and antimicrobial properties and enhanced protection and comfort by novel textile/membrane combinations, key factors to increase the acceptance and compliance of mask wearing. The innocuity and sustainability of masks, as well as taking into account particular needs of vulnerable persons in our society, are new fields for textile-based innovations. These innovations developed for the next generation of facemasks have a high adaptability to other product segments, which make textiles an attractive material for hygienic applications and beyond.

After the spread of COVID-19, surgical masks became highly recommended to the public. They tend to be handled and used multiple times, which may impact their performance. To evaluate this risk, surgical masks of Type IIR were submitted to four simulated treatments: folding, ageing with artificial saliva or sweat and washing cycles. The air permeability, mechanical integrity, electrostatic potential, and filtration efficiency (FE) of the masks were measured to quantify possible degradation. Overall, air permeability and mechanical integrity were not affected, except after washing, which slightly degraded the filtering layers. Electrostatic potential and FE showed a strong correlation, highlighting the role of electrostatic charges on small particle filtration. A slight decrease in FE for 100 nm particles was found, from 74.4% for the reference masks to 70.6% for the mask treated in saliva for 8 h. A strong effect was observed for washed masks, resulting in FE of 46.9% (± 9.5%), comparable to that of a control group with no electrostatic charges. A dry store and reuse strategy could thus be envisaged for the public if safety in terms of viral and bacterial charge is ensured, whereas washing strongly impacts FE and is not recommended.