What is the difference between Kevlar® tape 8020 and 6040? How to select the right type of Kevlar® fiber?

In 2021, 3X ENGINEERING has placed on the market a new type of Kevlar^® Fiber (called 6040) more efficient on several scenarios (severe corrosion) than the “traditional” Kevlar® Fiber (newly called 8020 and used since R4D creation).

Both types are the same material (Kevlar 49), have the same surface weight (400gsm) and use the same resin consumption per m². The difference is in the warp/weft ratio (80/20 to 60/40).

Fiber type 8020 is composed of 80% fiber in the circumferential direction and 20% in the axial one.

Fiber type 6040 is composed of 60% of fiber on the circumferential direction and 40% in the axial way (this fiber type will improve the performance for the composite laminate in axial direction).

The main objective of having the choice between the 2 tapes is to be more mechanically efficient and much more cost effective by reducing the number of layers of a design when the calculation is giving a favor to the circumferential or to the axial reinforcement.

REA software will recommend directly the most favourable fiber type, as each case is specific and depends on several added parameters (type and size of defect, pipe diameter, environment …).