DuPont’s meta-aramid — fire-fighter turnout, electrical paper and a char that does not melt-drip like nylon.
Also called: meta-aramid · PMIA · Nomex paper
Nomex is one of 32 materials in this atlas, grouped under fire: history, structure, measured properties, process routes, uses, safety and market — not a product catalogue.
Scores compare Nomex with the rest of the atlas on strength, heat, fire behaviour, insulation, workability and circularity. They are editorial, not certificates.
Seven chapters follow. Fire and insulation claims name test families (Euroclass, ASTM E84, ISO 5660, KS F) rather than inventing a single safety number.
Deep introduction
Nomex (poly(m-phenylene isophthalamide)) is a family of grades whose density ~1.38 g/cm³, heat band does not melt; decomposes ~400 °C+, and fire letter inherently FR textile.
Nomex is sold as grades, not as a single substance. Chemistry poly(m-phenylene isophthalamide), density ~1.38 g/cm³, heat band does not melt; decomposes ~400 °C+.
This atlas treats Nomex as a system: mill route, coatings, tests and the cavity it sits in.
Conductivity note: low (fibre); papers electrically insulating. Insulation score 48/100 is relative to 32 entries — metals lose, VIPs and aerogels win.
Fire letter in editorial use: inherently FR textile. Do not equate A1 with “safe in a blaze” or E with “illegal”. Assemblies decide.
Origin: DuPont 1960s, United States. The process chapter follows feedstock → conversion → forming → finish → install.
Uses span buildings to defence / safety. Pairings matter: aramid.
Producers below are landmarks, not an endorsement ranking. Prices are bands, not live quotes.
Circularity mark 36/100. Ask which scrap, which certificate, which year.
United States · 1960s–
DuPont Nomex is a reference point in the public image of Nomex.
Global · 1970s–
Firefighter turnout is a reference point in the public image of Nomex.
Global · 1980s–
F1 underwear is a reference point in the public image of Nomex.
Global · 1970s–
Transformer paper is a reference point in the public image of Nomex.
Aero · 1970s–
Honeycomb core is a reference point in the public image of Nomex.
Global · 2000s–
Arc-flash suit is a reference point in the public image of Nomex.
United States · 1960s–
NASA flight suit is a reference point in the public image of Nomex.
Global · lab
Meta vs para is a reference point in the public image of Nomex.
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Same family or rival physics — pick a duel.
Closest neighbours on the six atlas axes — strength, heat, fire, insulation, workability and circularity.
The hydraulic ceramic of cities — cement, water, rock and usually steel, with a fire story better than exposed steel.
Overall 57 🦺Aromatic polyamide pulps and filaments — ballistic packs, hot-gas filtration and asbestos replacement.
Overall 62 💎Crystalline oxides and carbides for heat, wear and electronics — not the mug on the desk.
Overall 64 🫧Si–O backbone elastomers and resins — bakeware, medical tubing, façade sealants and a kinder high-temp story than carbon chains.
Overall 55CaSO4·2H2O panels that buy fire time by calcining — the everyday A2/A1 lining of interiors.
Overall 59 🧯Paints that swell into insulating char — the thin-film way to give steel an R-rating without bulky boards.
Overall 58 🌡️Spun refractory fibres for 1000–1400 °C — kiln linings, gaskets, and a respirable-fibre caution that AES grades try to ease.
Overall 62