which appear to have been melted or fused this material is unacceptable for use as a reinforcing agent in friction material this is demonstrated by attempting to preform mixes using fiber processed by the above method the results are unsatisfactory again when the same acrylic staple material was processed in a so called 34 tornado 34 pulper produced by bolton emerson company the fibers merely kink or deform fig4 the fiber shows little more fibrillation than that of the staple starting material still further when the same starting material is processed in a bolton emerson clafflin type refiner the fibers were degraded with little formation of fibrils fig5 samples of creslan t 98 supplied by american cyanamid double passed through a disc refiner showed little fibrillation and even supposedly 34 fibrillated 34 material fig6 sampled by american cyanamid made later by them by an undisclosed method displayed poor fiber characteristics that material comprised matted felt like masses of very fine fibers largely disconnected from the trunk fibers these unattached mats do not adequately 34 anchor 34 or tie together a composite attempts to fibrillate this same type of acrylic fiber with other types of refiners including valley beaters and koller mills all yielded an insufficient amount and type of fibrillation nor did processing the acrylic fiber in a device of the type described in wrassman u s pat no 4 501 047 previously referred to fibrillate it as shown in fig7 the staple fibers showed only a few fibrils and they were short and fine the material was 34 opened 34 as the patent indicates but.