UHMWPE
Endumax® Film / Shield / Fabric Panel / Laminate
Teijin Aramid ? High Tenacity
Manufacturer page / TDSDescription
Highly oriented UHMWPE supplied primarily as film/tape and converted semi-finished forms rather than a conventional multifilament yarn. Mechanical yarn fields are intentionally blank because the current public ASDS does not provide a grade-specific tensile table; published density range is 0.70–0.97 g/cm³ and melting point is 142 °C for Film/Shield.
Comparative overview
UHMWPE fiber — Ballistic/high-energy 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 lightweight soft armor, hard-armor backing, helmets and fragment protection, especially where minimum areal weight is critical.
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 — specialty gel-spun UHMWPE ballistic grade and controlled UD/laminate conversion. |
|---|---|
| EM transparency | 10/10 — Exceptional — excellent dielectric and RF-transparent behavior. |
| Temperature / fire resistance | 1/10 — Very low — low melting/creep temperature; heat and fire are the principal limitation. |
| Impact / penetration resistance | 10/10 — Top-tier — top-tier specific energy absorption and high-velocity penetration resistance at very low density. |
| Electrical / thermal conductivity | 1/10 — Very low — electrical insulator with very low thermal transport. |
| Specific tensile strength | 9/10 — 9/10 | 3100.0 kN·m/kg | Class median |
| Atmospheric durability | 6/10 — Good — essentially no water absorption and good chemical resistance, but UV radiation, heat and oxidation can embrittle unstabilized exposed fibers. |
| Sustainability (CO₂e) | 5/10 — 15.00 kg CO₂e/kg fiber — High emissions — data quality: Low |
Technical properties
Applications and processing
Body and vehicle armorimpact-resistant structuresmarine and specialty composite applicationsBallistic protectionimpact-resistant panelsnets and lightweight laminatessails