Many people talk about Carbon Fiber, since 90% of the F1 car is made of Carbon Fiber, but, have any of you heard (ever in your life) the word "Zylon", well, I imagine that most of you will say that you have never in your life heard "such a thing", and well, if it wasn't for a college assignment, possibly even I wouldn't be talking about "The Zylon", and that's what I will talk about in this opportunity, so, without further ado, let's start...
What is Zylon?
Zylon is the strongest fiber in the world, it contradicts almost everything we know about fabrics and fibers. Zylon is made by blending a polymer called PBO (for phenylene benzobisoxazole) and forcing it through a spinning machine. PBO has a chemical structure that is difficult to process. Zylon's strength is about ten times greater than that of steel - a Zylon thread only 1 mm thick can hold an object weighing 450 kg (1,000 lb).
Zylon is a high-performance synthetic fiber developed by the Toyobo company, located in Osaka, Japan. Its creators boast that it is the fiber with the highest tensile strength, as well as high thermal resistance.
Properties of Zylon
Zylon's extraordinary properties have made it ideal for protective clothing, such as firefighters' uniforms and heat-resistant clothing. Zylon is also used as a heat-resistant industrial material, as well as in the manufacture of fiber optic cables. In 2001, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) used it as a reinforcing material in space observation balloons.
Discovery of Zylon
The principles on which Zylon is based were discovered in the United States more than 20 years ago, but it is not easy to commercialize products using it. Toyobo were able to achieve this by applying Japanese fiber technology and manufacturing techniques.
Applications and uses of Zylon
Personal protection: clothing (firefighter and military uniforms, heat resistant clothing, bulletproof vests...).
Industrial uses: heat-resistant industrial material (manufacture of fiber optic cables, reinforcement material in space observation balloons), aeronautics.
More uses of Zylon
It has been used in Formula 1 for the manufacture of the safety cockpit of single-seater cars since the 2007 season and as reinforcement in the helmet visor. It has been used in parts of the Mars Exploration Rover (MER). It was used to make bulletproof vests, but has been withdrawn due to degradation over time of the product. Zylon is also used in the manufacture of fiber optic cables, as well as in the manufacture of tennis rackets (both court and table tennis). Apart from all this, Zylon is a material that can be used in amazing things, an example of this is the use that NASA intends to use it in the manufacture of an elevator that will take place between the earth and the moon, this would be possible thanks to the mechanical and thermal properties of Zylon. This would take place in about ten years.
Properties of Zylon
Mechanical Properties
Toughness (N/tex): 3.7.
Tensile strength (MPa): 5800.
Elongation at break (%): 2.5 - 3.5.
Thermal Properties
Degradation temperature (ºC): 650.
Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI) (%): 68.
Thermo-mechanical resistance: 85% at 20 ºC after 1000 hours.
Chemical properties
Moisture absorption at 20 ºC and 60% relative humidity (%): 0.6 - 2.
Solvent resistance: high.
Resistance to weathering and UV rays: high.
Resistance to microorganisms: high.
Zylon Problems
Zylon is a compound that has been of great benefit to mankind supporting the technological advancement of our society, an example of this is the use of Zylon in the development of bulletproof vests, as protection in single-seater Formula 1 and are also widely used by NASA as reinforcements for observation balloons. But this material apart from all the advantages it has generated has also brought many aspects that have caused detrimental factors for humanity one of these is due to the little experimentation that has this compound so not much is known about this or its manufacturing process since the company that developed this "super fiber" are very jealous in what refers to its manufacturing process since this is a relatively new product in the industry and many economic benefits due to its versatility and its many benefits it offers such as flexibility, thermal resistance, strength and lightness of this composite, This is why not much is known about the negative contribution of this to the environment, but like all polymers it generates a considerable level of pollution in part due to its elaboration as such, since its elaboration requires the emanation of certain gases that cause the greenhouse effect due to the combustion required to expose the raw material of this compound to make it malleable and then spin it to obtain the desired product, Furthermore, when this compound degrades, it contaminates both the soil and the water, since it is not a compound that is obtained in nature, it creates an imbalance in nature when it comes into contact with an external agent.
Structure and Resistance of Zylon
PBO has a chemical structure that is difficult to process. Zylon's strength is about 10 times that of steel (a zylon thread only 1 mm in diameter can hold an object weighing 450 kg). It has excellent fire resistance, withstanding temperatures up to 650 degrees Celsius and is more resistant to impact than steel and carbon.
Zylon failures
Among the examples of Zylon failures, we could mention its use in bulletproof vests, which had to be manufactured with Zylon, due to the degradation it had over time. But this time we will focus, more than anything else, on examples of Zylon failures with respect to Formula 1. And as it was said before, "the monocoque and clothing used in F1, is composed of Zylon", this time we will focus on two Zylon failures that occur very often in F1 (in terms of suspension breakage and mostly in the hull).
Zylon failures in the F1 suspension
One of the failures that can occur, is when "the Zylon cables" that are inside the suspension blades (which, is also made of zylon), that after a "high impact collision that has had a F1 car", well, this suspension breaks, and by the magnitude of the impact, well, "the Zylon cable" breaks, and causes the tire to detach from the suspension, causing the tire to be out of control, and causing a certain moment of danger, which in the worst case can even cause the death of anyone present (both the drivers and all the people present around the accident).
Zylon failures in F1 driver helmets
As for the Zylon failures, produced in the helmet visors of Formula 1 drivers, well, we will focus on 3 cases:
"The spring that impacted Felipe Massa's helmet at the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix".
"Maria De Villota's fatal accident, in which (the Zylon visored helmet) could not successfully (as much as it could), cushion the front impact of a (slightly elevated) trailer ramp at a private testing for the Marussia F1 Team in 2012."
"Jules Bianchi's fatal accident in which (similar to Maria De Villota's case) he lost control of his car, and impacted directly into a crane at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix"
Zylon failures on Massa's helmet.
The first case was with which Formula 1 decided to implement zylon on the visors of the helmets of all drivers participating in F1. And this was the famous case of "The spring that hit Felipe Massa's helmet at the Hungarian GP in 2009". Massa survived that violent accident against the retaining wall, thanks to the visor that supported in good measure, the impact he had before, with a spring of 800gr at 240 km/h. After this, Massa suffered concussion and skull fracture and at times it was feared that he would lose his left eye, an area in which a hematoma had formed. The following year, Massa returned to the racetrack, and to date he has had no after-effects of the accident. Being polyethylene the material of which the visor was composed at that time, which made it somewhat impenetrable to any object that impacted directly against the pilot.
Failures of the Zylon on Maria De Villota's helmet
The fatal accident of Maria De Villota, was due to a frontal hit against a ramp (a little elevated) of a trailer, and although the Zylon visor cushioned a little the blow, and the visor did not suffer any fracture, it generated a very serious cranial traumatism, both in the right eye and in the front part of the brain (both had very serious injuries), and it was not until 4 days later (after the first day of surgeries), that she could recover consciousness progressively. Sadly, 1 year and 3 months later, Maria passed away due to the after-effects of the accident.
Zylon failures on Jules Bianchi's helmet
Bianchi lost control of his car at 213 km/h and hit the crane at 126 km/h, only 2.61 seconds later. The car hit the crane at a 55-degree angle, so that the nose of the front wing, tucked under the rear of the extraction vehicle. And although the Zylon visor cushioned the blow a bit, well, the problem was that Bianchi's car went under the crane and was pressed from above by the lower part of the crane. It worked like a brake, with an abrupt deceleration and in this process there was contact between the hull and the crane, after which, he suffered a force of 254G, causing him a very serious head trauma, leaving him unconscious, and subsequently in a coma. Sadly, Jules passed away 9 months after being in a coma.
Analysis of the Zylon
It can be concluded that Zylon or PBO (for phenylene benzobisoxazole), like other polymers, has both positive and negative environmental aspects, including the inadequate disposal of polymers, which contributes in large part to environmental degradation due to the accumulation of waste. Many plastic items are dangerous destructive weapons. For example, plastic bags can cause suffocation if the head is covered with them and they are not removed in time. Species such as giant tortoises die when they ingest plastic bags floating in the sea, mistaking them for fish sperm, their usual food. Non-biodegradation prevents their disposal in landfills and also significantly reduces the presence of bacterial colonies around plastics. Incineration can generate compounds.
And well, that's all for today, thank you very much for watching! Have a happy weekend! Greetings!!!
