Dyneema, the world's strongest fiber

1. Dyneema®, the world’s
strongest fiber™ Visit Eurocord
7-1-2010

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3. Dyneema®, the world s strongest fiber™
The strongest fiber in the world
ü 15 times stronger than steel
ü Lighter than water
ü Extremely durable
So it can:
ü Stop bullets
ü Pull oil tankers
ü Help to sail around the world in 50 days
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4. Applications with Dyneema®
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5. Applications with Dyneema®
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7. The basics
Dyneema is a fiber made from Ultra High
Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE)
Normal Polyethylene, low orientation, low
molecular weight, crystalinity < 60%
Dyneema®, very high molecular orientation
and weigth, crystalinity approximately 95%
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8. Dyneema® Gel Spinning process
suspension
UHMW-PE
continuous extrusion
metering pump
spinneret oven
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9. Some yarn basics
How is Dyneema yarn build up?
• Yarn consists our of multiple filaments.
• The amount and diameter of the filaments determine the diameter of the yarn.
• The diameter of filaments of Dyneema® grades is between 9 and 30 µm.
What does dtex mean?
• Dtex is a measure for fiber weight (thickness) and is defined as dtex = gram / 10.000m
• The dtex of Dyneema® fibers range between
– 55 dtex (=25x monofilaments of 2,2 dtex each)
– 2640 dtex (=780x monofilaments of 2.2dtex each)
What is a yarn construction?
• Multiple yarns can be combined into a construction - linear (like a rope) or 3D (like a
shape).
• Variables: grade, dtex, textile process (braiding, weaving, knitting, …), stitch density, …
• Various pre- and post treatment options have been developed by DSM Dyneema
• Every specific construction has specific mechanical characteristics => opportunity to tailor!
• EuroFibers helps to translate your mechanical needs into specific constructions.
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10. Microscopic view of a braid made of 16 yarns,
each yarn consisting of about 100 filaments
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11. Typical properties of Dyneema®
High pliability Hydrophobic
Soft as silk
Extremely Low melting
strong point (~150°C)
High fatigue
Cut and tear
resistance
resistance
High chemical
Creeps under resistance
constant load
High abrasion
Low coefficient resistance
of friction
Low density
Electrical
insulator
Low
elongation
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12. Conventional Fibers Vs. Performance Fibers
PES
• Dacron® HMPE
LCP • Dyneema®
• Diolen® • Vectran® • Spectra®
• Trevira®
• No brand name
PA Aramid
• Nylon® • Kevlar® PBO
• Enkalon® • Twaron® • Zylon®
• Perlon® • Technora®
• No brand name • Nomex®
Conventional High performance fibers
fibers
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13. There is a big difference in tenacity of fibers…
Free breaking length
Dyneema® 349 Km
Zylon® 346 Km
Vectran® 247 Km
Technora® 227 Km
Twaron® 200 Km
* Tested according to
ISO 2062
Diolen® 77 Km ** Literature value
Steel* 25 Km
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14. …as well as in the elongation of materials
Diolen® Technora® Zylon® Steel**
Twaron® Vectran® Dyneema®
2,8% 3,0%
3,1% 3,3%
4,0% 3,5%
5X
Elongation at break
* Synthetic fibers tested according to ISO 2062
** Literature value
12%
* Literature value
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15. Dyneema® is the only floating fiber
Floats
1
2
Sinks
3
Steel
Specific gravity*
4 Diolen (PES)
®
g/cm3
Twaron (Aramid)
®
5 Technora® (Aramid)
Vectran (LCP)
®
6 Zylon (PBO)
®
Dyneema (HMPE)
®
7
8
* Literaturevalues
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16. Aging of pure fibers differs quite a bit
% original strength retained after aging 336 hrs*
Dyneema® (HMPE)
Diolen (PES)
®
Twaron® (Aramid)
Technora (Aramid)
®
Zylon (PBO)
®
Vectran® (LCP)
*Aged according to ASTM G–155
*Tested according to ISO 2062
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
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17. Cut resistance
Dyneema® filament stretched over the edge of a razorblade (SEM)
Polyethylene cables flatten when placed under tension.
This property makes the fiber highly cut resistant.
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18. Abrasion resistance
80000
Test on emery paper @ 25 C*
°
70000
60000
nr. of cycles to break
50000
40000 Diolen (PES)
®
Twaron (Aramid)
®
30000 Technora® (Aramid)
Vectran (LCP)
®
20000
Zylon (PBO)
®
Dyneema (HMPE)
®
10000
*Tested at Staatliches Pruefamt fuer
das Textilgewerbe Mü nchberg
0
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19. Bending of an LCP filament
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20. Bending of an aramid filament
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21. Bending of a PBO filament
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22. Bending of a Dyneema® filament
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23. Comparison of fiber properties
Diolen® Twaron ® Technora ® Vectran ® Zylon® Dyneema®
Properties (PES) (Aramid) (Aramid) (LCP) (PBO) (HMPE)
Tenacity 7,6 19,6 22,3 24,2 33,9 34,2
(cN/dTex)
Elongation 12,3 3,1 4,0 3,3 2,8 3,4
(%)
Specific gravity
3
(Kg/dm ) 1,38 1,39 1,39 1,41 1,56 0,97
Aging
Good Poor Poor Very poor Very poor Very good
Abrasion Very good Very poor Very poor Poor Poor Very good
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24. Overview of titers and grades
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25. Contact
EuroFibers BV
P.O.Box 599
6200 AN Maastricht
The Netherlands
info@eurofibers.com
www.eurofibers.com
+31 43 30 40 014
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