High strength Kevlar fiber reinforced advanced textile composites

A state of art on characterization of Kevlar fibers and Kevlar fiber reinforced polymer (KFRP) composites is presented to enunciate the limits of further researches in regard of its applicability with the optimized design in today's high-tech era. A proper characterization is very important for enhancing material properties in various applications such as defense, industrial, marine and aerospace. In this review work, research works performed on the mechanical impact and deformation behavior of Kevlar fiber and KFRP composites have been focused. Kevlar fibers possess high fracture toughness and high strength to weight ratio, of high-performance reinforcement in polymer textile composites. Researchers using different modeling approaches such as homogeneous isotropic and orthotropic material model along with the effect of different parameters as fabric weaving pattern, matrix material, and composite fabrication techniques, working and loading conditions are discussed in detail. Due to anisotropic nature of Kevlar fibers; KFRP composites have high ratio of longitudinal tensile to compression strength whereas the compression strength is considerably found to increase after fiber surface treatment. The purpose of this study is to provide the reader with an overview of different strategies applied with the experimental and numerical investigations of high strength Kevlar fibers and KFRP composites at micro/meso/macroscale.