Synthetic & regenerated fibres

Kevlar®

Also known as: Para-aramid, Aramid fibre

High-strength para-aramid fibre from DuPont™ with exceptional tensile strength and heat resistance for protective apparel.

~1 min read By Christian Habert Fact-checked by Clubmartin Textile EditorialAI-assisted Last reviewed: Sources (3)

Description

Kevlar® is the registered trade name for para-aramid fibres from the chemical company DuPont™ and was industrially introduced in 1971. Chemically it is poly-para-phenylene terephthalamide with highly oriented molecular chains, giving extreme tensile strength.

The fibre is about five times stronger than steel weight-for-weight (specific strength), flame retardant; thermal decomposition starts around 425–475 °C. Tensile strength varies by grade: Kevlar 29 ≈ 2,920 MPa, Kevlar 49 ≈ 3,000 MPa, Kevlar 149 ≈ 3,400 MPa. Kevlar® is used to make cut-resistant gloves, ballistic vests, motorcycle apparel, firefighting gear, armour laminates and technical reinforcements. In apparel the fibre is mostly used to reinforce stress points (knees, shoulders, palms).

  • Aramid fibre (para-aramid)
  • Extremely high tensile strength
  • Flame retardant, temperature stable up to about 500 °C
  • Used in protective and safety apparel

Kevlar® is UV-sensitive and therefore usually needs a protective cover or coating when exposed outdoors.

Properties

Fibre classPara-aramid
ManufacturerDuPont™ (1971)
Tensile strengthapprox. 3600 MPa
UseProtective apparel, ballistic protection

Related product categories

Sources & references

3
  1. DuPont Kevlar dupont.com https://www.dupont.com/brands/kevlar.html
  2. Wikipedia: Kevlar Wikipedia — Freie Enzyklopädie https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevlar
  3. OEKO-TEX OEKO-TEX Association https://www.oeko-tex.com/

Related terms

We respect your privacy

We use cookies to provide you with the best shopping experience. Some are technically necessary, others help us improve our services. You can adjust your settings at any time. Learn more in our Privacy Policy.

100 % hosted in Germany Own infrastructure, no SaaS

Cookie Settings

Here you can choose which cookies you want to allow. Essential cookies are required for the website to function and cannot be disabled.

Essential
These cookies are strictly necessary for the website to operate (e.g. shopping cart, login, language settings).
Always on
Functional
Enable enhanced features such as price display (net/gross), wishlists, and personalised settings.
Analytics
Help us understand how visitors use our website so we can continuously improve our services.
Marketing
Used to show you relevant ads and offers on other platforms.

Support Chat

We reply as soon as possible
We reply as soon as possible
Hi! How can we help you? Just describe your question — we'll reply here in the chat.
You can close this window anytime — once we reply, it will open again automatically.
Leave your email above so we can reach you even if you close the chat.
No need to sign in — we reply right here in the chat.
Link copied