Abstract: Breathable barrier fabrics for protective garments that form liquid impervious seams when overlapped and sealed together via heat-sealing, and the seams formed thereby. The breathable barrier fabric is a heat-sealable, liquid impervious fabric composed of a breathable, liquid impervious thermoplastic film layer having a first melting point and a nonwoven layer bonded to a first surface of the thermoplastic film layer. The nonwoven layer has a second melting point that is higher than the first melting point of the thermoplastic film layer. A second nonwoven layer having the second melting temperature may be bonded to a second surface of the thermoplastic film layer opposite the first surface such that the inner film layer has a lower melting point than the outer nonwoven layers. The heat-sealable, liquid impervious fabric has a moisture vapor transmission rate of at least 800 g/m2/day as determined by ASTM E96-00.

Abstract: Breathable barrier fabrics for protective garments that form liquid impervious seams when overlapped and sealed together via heat-sealing, and the seams formed thereby. The breathable barrier fabric is a heat-sealable, liquid impervious fabric composed of a breathable, liquid impervious thermoplastic film layer having a first melting point and a nonwoven layer bonded to a first surface of the thermoplastic film layer. The nonwoven layer has a second melting point that is higher than the first melting point of the thermoplastic film layer. A second nonwoven layer having the second melting temperature may be bonded to a second surface of the thermoplastic film layer opposite the first surface such that the inner film layer has a lower melting point than the outer nonwoven layers. The heat-sealable, liquid impervious fabric has a moisture vapor transmission rate of at least 800 g/m2/day as determined by ASTM E96-00.