Studies on properties of coated para-aramid fabric samples developed for military applications – post UVA-340 exposure

Abstract

Coated technical fabrics are used in the military as personnel protective clothing as well in space exploration applications such as ultra-long duration balloons. In this article, authors prepared 12 varieties of coated fabrics to find out suitable barrier chemical for military inflatable devices used at ultraviolet (UV) intense high altitude (HA) region. The base fabric was para-aramid (Kevlar® or Twaron®) and four barrier chemicals were chosen for coating purpose; Neoprene, Polyurethane, Natural Rubber and Hypalon with 300, 500 and 700 grams per sq meter (gsm) weight. UV content at HA is high due to the thin atmosphere, therefore, the degradation caused by UV radiation is a major concern. As para-aramid is known to lose its mechanical properties dramatically under UV radiation, the aim was to find out low gsm, high performance fabric coated with barrier chemicals that offers air/water proofness, UV protection and abrasion resistance.