A comprehensive investigation on tensile behavior of surface‐modified Kevlar hybrid nanocomposites for similar and dissimilar joints

Abstract

AbstractThe main objective of this study is to enhance the interfacial adhesion between Kevlar fiber‐reinforced epoxy composite for a single lap joint. This has been achieved by performing various chemical treatments on Kevlar fiber. Moreover, the nanofiller‐added epoxy matrices were also used for investigating its potentiality in a single lap joint. A thorough comparison has been made among various chemical treatments based composite and modified epoxy matrix composite. The tensile strength of similar and dissimilar single lap joints was investigated through experiments and was analyzed by SEM, XRD, and Weibull model. It was perceived that the tensile shear strength and Weibull modulus of the treated similar Kevlar lap joint were 21.45% and 40.18% higher than the similar nanocomposite joint; also, it has been found that an increment of about 79.8% and 76.64% with that of untreated similar Kevlar joint. Furthermore, the failure progression of optimized joints was evaluated by acoustic emission (AE) monitoring.Highlights Interfacial adhesion study of Kevlar fiber with matrix in single lap joint. Kevlar surface modification and epoxy modified by nanocomposites were used. The lap shear strength of similar and dissimilar single lap joint composites. SEM, XRD, and Weibull analysis and AE monitoring were used for this research. Chemical treatments on Kevlar fiber have enhanced the interfacial adhesion.