Nomex saves lives at critical moments

By Zhao Xinhua

A Race—car driver came down the straight at over 300 kph,a tire blows out,and the driver skidded off into the crash barrier.Suddenly,the car has turned into a fireball.The driver managed to escape,the fire went out all by itself.This is thanks to an amazing flame—resistant material in the driver's full body kit,Nomex.Since Nomex was introduced in 1967,it has saved the lives of countless firefighters,pilots,soldiers,industrial workers—and,of course,racing drivers!

Nomex is the brand name for heat resistant and flame retardant textiles manufactured by DuPont Company.Nomex is a MPIA (poly—m—phenylene iso phthalamide),also known as aramid 1313.Nomex is an inherently flame—resistant,high—temperature resistant fiber that will not melt,drip,or support combustion in air.It is offered in paper,felt,fabric,and fiber forms.Nomex brand fiber is used across a diverse range of applications,but it is perhaps best known as a critical component in protective apparel.

Two superb properties of Nomex make it a perfect protective material.Apart from race—car drivers,it's worn by astronauts,fire—fighters,and military personnel.It's also widely used in more mundane ways,such as in my house—hold oven gloves.In sheet form,heatproof Nomex finds many uses in automo—biles,including the interior of a car,high—temperature hoses and insulation for spark plugs.

In the original Nomex patent,five samples of the material were compared with five similar samples of cotton (the control) in a basic flame test.The cot—ton samples caught fire in just 2 seconds and burned for 13-430 seconds;the Nomex ignited much more slowly (after about 4 seconds) and stopped burning after a mere 5 seconds when the flame was removed.Apart from high heat resistance and flame retardance (it doesn't melt or drip),the tough,woven structure of Nomex is extremely strong and doesn't react with water.

With the development of technology,the flame—resistant requirements for interior decoration products are also higher and higher.Many countries have also formulated flame retar—dant regulations for textiles,stipulating that curtains in public places such as theaters,hospitals and hotels must meet the flame—resistant requirements.Flame—resistant fabrics con—taining Nomex fibers are also commonly used in household products such as sofas and curtains.

In addition to making protective clothing,Nomex materi—als have been used for decades as high—performance insula—tion for engines,transformers,and generators,reducing early failure and maintenance rates.The honeycomb shaped No—mex paper structure is used for light structural support,thus greatly improving the performance of commercial aircraft.No—mex paper is also used in the production of consumer goods,industrial equipment and vehicles such as high—speed trains.

At present,the companies in the world use compos—ite materials Nomex to make professional and advanced sound box units in the bass part.Nomex adopts honey—comb structure and has the advantages of light weight,high rigidity and high strength.The surrounding sounds create an immersive effect.

Fischer's Travers Carbon ski boots also use Nomex,a material that provides high abrasion resistance,acid and alkali resistance,light weight,insulation,and aging resistance to in—crease friction while skiing,supporting skiers complete climbs of more than 80°.And the overall weight of snow boots is less than 1KG,a complete farewell to heavy snow equipment.

With the development of science and technology,espe—cially the continuous progress in the field of aerospace,Nomex paper is also constantly upgraded.In recent years,China's high—tech industry develops rapidly,and the market demand for aramid paper is increasing.In the early stage,China's ara—mid paper completely relied on imports,but with the improve—ment of domestic aramid paper technology,the production capacity of aramid paper has been greatly increased.In the future,domestic aramid paper will continue to occupy the market share of imported products.