Experimental and theoretical study on the strain rate and temperature dependence of mechanical behaviour of Kevlar fibre

Abstract

Abstract The tensile impact experiments on Kevlar 49 fibre bundles were carried out at strain rates 140, 440, 1350 s −1 and at temperatures −60, −20, 15, 50 and 90°C. It was found that the tensile mechanical properties of Kevlar 49 fibre bundles depend both upon the strain rate and the temperature. A bimodal Weibull distribution statistical model of the strain rate and temperature dependence of fibres, and a test method of determining mechanical properties and Weibull parameters of fibres from the fibre bundle test were adopted to characterize the combined effects of strain rate and temperature on Kevlar 49 fibre strength distribution. The simulated results are in good agreement with the experimental data, which proves that the bimodal Weibull distribution function is suitable to represent the statistical strength distribution of Kevlar 49 fibre which has peculiar ‘skin–core’ physical structure, and that the test method is valid and reliable.