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Toyobo Reports Tests Show No Degradation of Zylon(R)'s Stretch Resistance From Heat and Humidity

Toyobo Reports Tests Show No Degradation of Zylon(R)'s Stretch Resistance From Heat and Humidity

Wednesday March 10, 1:32 pm ET

OSAKA, Japan, March 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Toyobo Co., Ltd. is informing its customers who buy Zylon® fiber for use in personal body armor that the fiber’s resistance to stretch did not degrade and remained at 100% effectiveness after being exposed to continuous and extreme humidity conditions for 20 months.

Toyobo reports that the tensile modulus, the engineering term for stretch resistance, for Zylon fiber remains constant even after exposure to 104 degrees Fahrenheit and 80% relative humidity for 24 hours a day, over almost 600 days. The aging effects on Zylon fiber under extreme temperature and humidity conditions show that Zylon fiber’s capability for energy dissipation remains constant and extremely high.

“The results of the stretch resistance tests on Zylon are significant because stretch resistance may well be the single most important characteristic to be considered in the design and engineering of a bullet resistant vest,” says Al Price, President of United States Ballistic Engineering, an international expert in the field, and a consultant for Toyobo. “Increased stretch resistance means improved fiber performance for ballistic applications. This translates into improved ballistic protection for the wearer of a vest. Higher modulus is much more efficient in dissipating the energy from the bullet’s impact across the length of the fiber. This improved strain wave velocity could potentially increase a vest’s ballistic performance in both stopping power and blunt force.”

Earlier this week, Toyobo shared its stretch resistance test data with the National Institute of Justice, a unit of the U.S. Justice Department, which is conducting ballistic tests as part of a vest safety initiative addressing the reliability of body armor and the future of bullet-resistant technology. Previous Toyobo testing data was voluntarily given to the government last fall and Toyobo continues to fully assist the Department of Justice in its work.

Zylon was first sold for commercial use by Toyobo in 1998 and is a component part of more than 100 brands of bullet resistant vests. Like other fibers used for ballistic applications, over time and under certain conditions, the tensile strength, or breaking point, of Zylon may experience degradation. Test results showing some tensile strength degradation under heat and humidity on Zylon have been repeatedly reported over the years to manufacturers of body armor so that they could take that data into account when developing a vest’s design, including weave pattern, the amount of Zylon used, and the vest’s covering material.

Toyobo continues to make and sell Zylon. In recent months, significant orders for Zylon have been placed by manufacturers of body armor.

Toyobo Co., Ltd. is a versatile multi-national company based in Osaka, Japan active in chemicals, fibers, textiles, films, biochemicals, and pharmaceutical products. Toyobo was founded in 1882. Toyobo stock is traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

CONTACT: Kent Jarrell, +1-202-230-1833, or Kjarrell@apcoworldwide.com, for Toyobo Co., Ltd.

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