Polyethylene-Kevlar Composite Foams I: Morphology

Abstract

Polyethylene-Kevlar composite foams were investigated in order to understand the effect of fibers. In this first part, cell sizes, cell density and cell size distribution of the foams were measured as well as the shear viscosity of the unfoamed composites and matrix. It is shown that reinforcing fibers can act as nucleation sites for foaming depending on the processing conditions of the composites. The results are discussed in terms of fiber content and polymer-fiber interface in relation with the rheological properties of the unfoamed materials.