Yarn-on-Yarn Abrasion Resistance

One measure of fatigue resistance used in the rope and cordage industry is the yarn-on-yarn abrasion test (e.g.Cordage Institute Test Method CI-1503). This test simulates abrasion of adjacent yarns inside a ropeor rope splice during flexure. The typical test configuration is shown in Figure 13.

Using this test,samples of Vectran™ HT 1500/300 fiber with various finishes were evaluated versus a widerange of aramid yarns and HMPE. Results are shown in Table 9. Vectran™clearly outperforms aramids and isequivalent to or superior to HMPEs in dry testing. The performance of Vectran™ and HMPE were improved bywet conditions; in contrast, aramid abrasion resistance was lower when tested in water.

Using a third party’s proprietary marine finish, an independent rope and cordage industry test facility confirmed Vectran's exceptional abrasion resistance in comparison to aramids. Vectran’s CTF was consistently an order of magnitude higher than that of the aramid at each set of test conditions (see Table 10).

External Abrasion Resistance

Abrasion test comparisons of Vectran™ and aramid braids were conducted by a high-performance rope andcable company using the test shown schematically in Figure 14. Without marine finish on the braid, Vectran™ outperformed aramid (Table 11). With marine finish applied to both Vectran™ and aramid braids, Vectran™ again showed superior abrasion resistance.