Abstract: The present mat has a textile upper surface that has been thermally modified in a patternwise arrangement, such that the patterned areas have an abrasive feel ideal for scraping dirt from footwear. Such abrasive feel, or harsh hand, is due to the thermal modification of the heat-treated yarns, which may result in fibers having a clubbed end or, in extreme cases, a ball of remelted polymer on the end of a fiber stalk or fiber. The yarns may be “thermally modified” by shrinking (in which the filaments decrease in size longitudinally, but are still recognizable as. separate filaments) and melting (in which the yarns are heated beyond their glass transition point, become molten, and, when cooled, produce a fused yarn bundle). Attached to textile upper surface 10 is a flexible and durable backing material (e.g., 6).

Abstract: A flow conditioning system includes a flow randomizing section for receiving an input fluid stream and for increasing the uniformity of the streamwise velocity components of the input fluid stream while randomizing the non-streamwise velocity components, so as to provide a randomized fluid stream; a flow expansion section for receiving the randomized fluid stream and damping the non-streamwise velocity components therein, so as to provide a damped fluid stream; and a flow straightening section for receiving the damped fluid stream and for dividing the damped fluid stream into multiple, parallel output substreams so as to provide a laminar flow profile in an output fluid stream.

Abstract: A flow conditioning system includes a flow randomizing section for receiving an input fluid stream and for increasing the uniformity of the streamwise velocity components of the input fluid stream while randomizing the non-streamwise velocity components, so as to provide a randomized fluid stream; a flow expansion section for receiving the randomized fluid stream and damping the non-streamwise velocity components therein, so as to provide a damped fluid stream; and a flow straightening section for receiving the damped fluid stream and for dividing the damped fluid stream into multiple, parallel output substreams so as to provide a laminar flow profile in an output fluid stream.