UHMWPE
Dyneema SK78 SK75
Dyneema ? High Tenacity
Manufacturer page / TDSDescription
Premium UHMWPE fiber with excellent creep resistance and fatigue performance. Main applications: Ballistic armor, marine ropes, mooring, lifting, aerospace, protective equipment. Dyneema® is a gel-spun UHMW-PE multifilament fiber characterized by high strength, low density, low elongation, and excellent chemical resistance. It provides excellent fatigue, abrasion, weathering, and fungal resistance, with very good UV stability and long-term outdoor durability. The fiber is biologically inert, non-respirable (IARC Group 3), and is available in multiple strength grades and linear densities for industrial, marine, aerospace, and medical applications. Key data (: Environmental resistance: Excellent weathering, visible light exposure, oxidation, and fungal resistance; very good UV resistance. Fatigue resistance: Excellent resistance to abrasion, cutting, bending, flexural, and tension fatigue. Chemical resistance: Resistant to most chemicals; only strong oxidizing agents significantly affect mechanical properties. Biological properties: Biologically inert with excellent resistance to fungi and microorganisms. Safety: IARC Group 3 (not classifiable as carcinogenic to humans); fiber diameter is non-respirable. Material: Gel-spun ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) multifilament fiber. Key characteristics: High strength, low density, low elongation at break, and excellent durability in harsh environments.
Comparative overview
UHMWPE fiber — High-specific-strength UHMWPE
Strengths: Exceptional specific strength, very low density, abrasion resistance and impact-energy absorption; it floats and enables extremely light protection or ropes.
When to use: Select for high-performance ropes, moorings, cut protection, sailing lines and ultralight impact-resistant laminates.
Key tradeoffs: Very low temperature capability, creep under sustained load, weak compression and difficult adhesion; unsuitable near heat/fire unless the system is specifically protected.
Qualitative ratings (1–10 scale)
| Relative cost | 8/10 — High — premium gel-spun high-tenacity UHMWPE, but broader than certified ballistic grades. |
|---|---|
| EM transparency | 10/10 — Exceptional — excellent dielectric transparency. |
| Temperature / fire resistance | 1/10 — Very low — low melting point and creep under heat limit service temperature. |
| Impact / penetration resistance | 9/10 — Excellent — outstanding specific strength and toughness, slightly below optimized ballistic grades for penetration screening. Stored TDS elongation: 4%. |
| Electrical / thermal conductivity | 1/10 — Very low — electrically insulating with low thermal transport. Stored axial thermal conductivity: 0.4 W/m·K. |
| Specific tensile strength | 10/10 — 10/10 | 4020.6 kN·m/kg | Product TDS |
| Atmospheric durability | 6/10 — Good — excellent moisture and chemical resistance; long-term UV and elevated-temperature exposure require stabilizers, coatings or laminate shielding. |
| Sustainability (CO₂e) | 6/10 — 8.20 kg CO₂e/kg fiber — Medium emissions — data quality: Medium |
Technical properties
| Tensile strength | 3900.0 MPa |
|---|---|
| Tensile modulus | 132.0 GPa |
| Density | 0.97 g/cm³ |
| Filament diameter | 20.0 µm |
Applications and processing
DefenseIndustrialMarineSports Goods