Kevlar is a strong material created in 1965 by Stephanie Kwolek and Herbert Blades. Aramid weaving turns a liquid into a solid, creating a material resistant to heat and corrosion. Kevlar is commonly used in body armor and Nomex is flame retardant. Different weaves create different products, including Kevlar 29 for jackets and Kevlar 49 for boat hulls. Kevlar can also be used in shelters for tornado protection. While it can be punctured, Kevlar is versatile and likely to be used in more products in the future.
Kevlar® is an extremely strong material that derives its strength from its spiderweb-like texture. Stephanie Kwolek and Herbert Blades created this specialty material in 1965 for the Dupont Company. It has since been used in a number of ways.
To produce Kevlar®, a special weaving method, known as aramid weaving, is used to turn a liquid into a solid. Aramid fibers tend to be difficult to corrode, resistant to heat and have no melting point. However, chlorine can degrade the material.
Because Kevlar® is lightweight, it’s the premium choice for body armor. A variant called Nomex® is flame retardant and can be used by firefighters or other people responding to disaster situations.
Different types of weaves that can be used to create this material, and the one that makes a fabric-like product suitable for jackets is called Kevlar® 29. This version can also be used in brake pads or to replace asbestos. It is also an important part of armor composition.
There are two other main types of armor: Kevlar® and Kevlar® 49. The regular, unnumbered version can be used to replace rubber items such as tires. Type 49 is extremely strong and can replace the more traditional materials used for a boat hull, or be used in simple items such as bicycle frames.
One of the more interesting applications of this material is its use in shelters for tornado protection. Shed structures can be placed in a garage. Tests show it can deflect large projectiles at speeds up to 250 mph (402.32 km/h). In areas with frequent tornadoes, these shelters can become the best way to protect people from tornadoes.
Under severe compression, Kevlar® can deform and, in some cases, be punctured. After vests made from the material were introduced, for example, people quickly found a way to make bullets that could go through them. These are illegal for sale to consumers, but some militaries use them to provide additional strength in ground combat.
In general, however, Kevlar® can be used in a variety of ways to provide protection and to replace materials more prone to corrosion. It is likely that even more products will be made of them in the future.
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