Influence of fiber surface treatments and hybridization on interply and intraply Kevlar reinforced polymer composites

Abstract

The research study has focused on the influence of Kevlar fiber surface positions of fibers. The phosphoric acid (PA) pretreated epichlorohydrin (ECH) treatment was used for surface modification of Kevlar fiber. Flexural after indentation (FAI) evaluations were carried out on inter-intraply treated and untreated Kevlar hybrid composites. The surface characterizations of treated and untreated Kevlar samples were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), XRD, and FESEM analysis. The results revealed that the load-bearing capacity and flexural strength of intraply hybrid composites increased by 45.1% and 36.5%, respectively, compared to interply hybrid composites. Also, the indentation strength of the treated Kevlar intraply hybrid composites was 26.4% higher than that of the untreated intraply hybrid composites. Further, it was analyzed by damage progression and fractography analysis by field emission scanning electron microscopy.