UHMWPE Fibre (Dyneema-class)
Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene fibre for lightweight armour, luggage and anti-intrusion applications.
Overview
UHMWPE fibre of the Dyneema class is a gel-spun polyethylene yarn with exceptional specific tensile strength and cut resistance, used as a textile rather than as a bulk polymer. It is far lighter than aramid for many ballistic and anti-intrusion stacks, and it floats — properties that have pulled it into luggage, door anti-intrusion packs and specialist motorsport safety. In automotive LVHV it appears in lightweight armour and privacy glazing interlayers on some luxury and protection programmes, in cut-resistant cable and hose wrapping, and in racing safety nets and harness-adjacent textiles. It is not Kevlar (para-aramid) and not a structural chassis composite fibre like carbon. Temperature resistance is modest compared with aramids; it is the wrong fibre next to exhausts or in high-temperature composite matrices. UV and creep need design attention.
Automotive Applications
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Properties
Category
Type
UHMWPE Fibre
Available Forms
Key Properties
- Very high specific tensile strength
- Low density
- Cut and abrasion resistant
- Lower temperature limit than aramid
- Distinct from Kevlar
- Textile form (not bulk UHMWPE sheet)