Kevlar® Fabrics Modified with SiC Particles

Abstract

The impact properties of fabrics can be improved by modification of fibers with hard ceramic particles. In this work silicon carbide (SiC) particles dispersion was used for impregnating Kevlar fabrics. Two different modifications were tested: one side and both sides impregnation. Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) was applied to study the modifications in the degradation characteristics of the fabric while single yarn pull-out test was applied to observe the influence of the particles in the frictional properties of the fabric. TGA results showed that SiC addition improved the thermal stability of the fabrics and this effect is more pronounced in the sample impregnated on both sides. Finally, the results of pull-out tests showed that the curves profile was affected by the presence of particles and that the maximum forces necessary to extract a yarn increased by approximately 130% in the one side modified sample and approximately 150% in the both sides modified sample when compared with neat fabric.