What Is Uhmwpe Material
What is UHMWPE fiber?
The most successful application of gel spinning technology is the manufacture of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber. Since the industrialization of this product in the late 1980s, it has attracted market attention for its excellent mechanical properties. The technology has been continuously produced and improved, and it has made rapid progress, and the output has steadily increased.
UHMWPE fabric
According to research, high-strength polyethylene fiber has a structure with high knot quality and high orientation. The fiber can still maintain softness and excellent mechanical properties at extremely low temperatures. At the same time, the fiber still has quite a few defects, mainly including poor high temperature resistance, poor surface adhesion, and large stress creep.
No matter what kind of performance the fiber has, the reason behind it is the characteristics of the molecular structure.
UHMWPE, the full name is ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene.
Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) is a thermoplastic engineering plastic with a linear structure and excellent comprehensive performance. It is an unbranched linear polyethylene with a molecular weight of 1.5 million or more.
Compared to nylon and polyester grades used in general ropes, UHMWPK fiber is a high-performance fiber that not only has high strength but also high tensile and flexural fatigue properties. Carbon and glass fibers have high modulus and brittle fracture modes, but HPPE fibers do not show this obvious combination. UHMWPE fibers have high modulus but are still flexible and have a long flexural life. The good flexural fatigue resistance may be related to the low compressive yield stress.
PE fibers do not contain any aromatic rings or any amide, hydroxyl or other chemical groups suspected of being damaged by corrosive agents. Therefore, compared with aromatic polyamide fibers, polyethylene fibers, especially high-knot, high-molecular-weight polyethylene, are very resistant to chemical agents and have strong resistance to acids and muds. Dyneema fibers and Spectra fibers with multi-hydrocarbon properties are sensitive to oxidizing media.
The UV resistance of UHMWPE fibers does not require special precautions during processing and long-term storage. But when UHMWPE fiber materials are continuously exposed to UV rays for a long time, their light resistance becomes limited.
UHMWPE fiber can be used to make safety protection products
The application of UHMWPE fiber in the field of safety protection products reflects the excellent performance of UHMWPE fiber. The impact toughness of UHMWPE fiber composite materials is very good, and the specific impact absorption energy is the highest among advanced composite materials. The specific impact absorption energy is 2.6 times, 3 times and 1.8 times that of aramid, carbon fiber and E glass fiber composite materials, so it is suitable for bulletproof vests, helmets and bulletproof armor. UHMWPE fiber is widely used to make flexible bulletproof vests and bulletproof steel plate materials. In addition, the composite material is also used in helmets for miners, racers and climbers, as well as various impact-resistant panels. It can be said that UHMWPE fiber plays a huge role in the field of safety protection. In addition, UHMWPE fiber has good textile processing properties and can be made into various stab-proof and cut-proof fabrics.
