C&EN: BUSINESS - BATTLE TESTED http://pubs.acs.org/isubscribe/journals/cen/83/i31/print/8331bus1.html1 of 4 8/5/2005 10:58 AM August 1, 2005 Volume 83, Number 31pp. 18-22 BATTLE TESTED High-performance fiber makers respond to demand from military and security usersSUIT OF ARMOR Dyneema fiber composite protects the SikorskyCH-35 helicopter.DSM PHOTO MARC S. REISCH, C&EN NORTHEAST NEWS BUREAU DuPont, Honeywell, DSM, and Teijin are all building new capacity to supply the high-performance fibers that make flexible, lightweight, and bulletproof fabrics. It is all about gaining an edge. These big fiber makers and a newcomer--Magellan Systems International--mean to increase the chances that soldiers, first responders, and others will survive in war zones or in case of terrorist attacks.Not surprisingly, it is military and civil defense organizations that provide much of the driving force for fibers research and capacity increases. According to the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center (NSC), which develops equipment to support soldiers, body armor has saved dozens of lives in Afghanistan and Iraq.p-Aramid and high-performance polyethylene (HPPE) fibers incorporated into helmets, flexible vests, and rigid chest plates have done their job well, but they are among the heaviest items worn or carried by troops.To be sure, protective gear has come a long way since ground troops wore nylon "flak" vests and steel helmets in the 1960s. In the 1980s, p-aramid vests and helmets came into use and provided a much higher level of protection. Improved versions of HPPE and DuPont's Kevlar p-aramid fiber further improved ballistic protection and were 25% lighter than an earlier generation.But now the Army is on the hunt for even lighter fibers to reduce the load on a soldier and addfurther protection. Civil defense and first responders also have an interest in such new developments. A superfiber called M5, made by eight-year-old Magellan, may be part of the solution. In the meantime, existing fiber producers are competing to ramp up capacity and provide fiber for military and security gear.High-strength fiber producers have issued regular capacity increase announcements in recent years. In June 2004, DuPont said it would spend $70 million to boost global capacity for Kevlarp-aramid fiber by more than 10%. The expansions, to be completed by the middle of 2006, follow three other expansions completed between 2000 and 2003 at DuPont sites in Richmond,Va., and Maydown, Northern Ireland. The firm cites safety and security needs as the motivation for the expansions.Teijin, which expanded its aramid fiber business when it purchased Akzo Nobel's TwaronC&EN: BUSINESS - BATTLE TESTED http://pubs.acs.org/isubscribe/journals/cen/83/i31/print/8331bus1.html2 of 4 8/5/2005 10:58 AMp-aramid fiber portfolio in 2000, has also been increasing capacity. In March, the DuPont competitor started the third expansion since 2000 of Twaron capacity in Emmen and Delfzijl, the Netherlands. The $185 million, 20% capacity increase is to be completed in the second half of 2006. It will come on top of a 50% boost in 2003 and a 10% boost in capacity set to becompleted by the end of September.When all the projects are completed, Teijin says it will have 23,000 metric tons of Twaron capacity. Bullet-resistant vests and helmets, vehicle armor, and blast mitigation materials are among the growing markets Teijin cited as being responsible for increased fiber demand.DSM, which produces Dyneema HPPE fiber in Heerlen, the Netherlands, opened its first U.S. Dyneema fiber plant in Greenville, N.C., in May 2004. The line has a capacity of up to 750 metric tons per year. Initial output was dedicated to U.S. military requests, "due to the currentsituation of increased demand for personal security and protection against terrorism in the U.S.," according to a DSM announcement.A second fiber line that a spokesman says will begin operating by the end of this year is under construction in Greenville. And this past February, DSM said it would spend $50 million to build yet a third fiber line in Greenville. When the final line opens in the third quarter of 2006, DSM claims, it will be "the largest manufacturer of HPPE fiber on U.S. soil."IMPENETRABLE Ceramic-faced Spectra composite protects against high-velocity rifle rounds.HONEYWELL IMAGEHONEYWELL, producer of Spectra brand HPPE and a DSM competitor, has also announced a capacity increase. Both DSM and Honeywell developed technology to produce HPPE fiber in theearly 1980s. Until recently, DSM produced its fiber only in Europe and in a Japanese joint venture with Toyobo. Honeywell was the sole U.S. producer.Just after DSM opened its first fiber line in Greenville, Honeywell said it would spend $20 million to boost production of Spectra. That expansion, now on-line, is primarily devoted to serving U.S. military requirements.While the big multinationals compete in tried-and-true high-performance fibers, Magellan has something totally new. In December, the firm completed construction of a pilot facility to produce up to 60 metric tons annually of a soft, silky, blue fiber, poly{2,6-diimidazo-[4,5b-4´,5´e]pyridinylene-1,4(2,5-dihydroxy)phenylene}. An Akzo scientist developed the ultra-high-strength fiber in the late 1990s just as the company was losing interest in the fiber business. Akzo code-named the fiber M5, most likely because theC&EN: BUSINESS - BATTLE TESTED http://pubs.acs.org/isubscribe/journals/cen/83/i31/print/8331bus1.html3 of 4 8/5/2005 10:58 AMchemical name doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.Akzo transferred its Twaron p-aramid business to Acordis, which sold it to Teijin in 2000. And 2000 was also the year when Eugene H. Vetter, Magellan's president, acquired the M5 project from Akzo. Natick Soldier Center is interested in M5 for use in personnel and vehicle armor, flame and thermal protection, and composites. According to Magellan, M5 is lighter and stronger than p-aramid and HPPE fibers and has better fire resistance than m-aramid fibers such as DuPont's Nomex. It is unaffected by ultraviolet light, so it better resists environmentaldegradation.In a recent overview of the fiber, NSC pointed out that M5's "mechanical properties are less than optimal under current processing conditions." Even so, in ballistic tests using composites incorporating bench-produced M5 fiber, NSC found that the composites "provide performance almost as good as the best composite materials ever prepared for