Surface‐modified kevlar fiber‐reinforced ionomer: Dynamic mechanical properties and their interpretation

A quasi‐three‐dimensional model was applied to the composite of ionomer and isotropically oriented discontinuous poly(p‐phenylene terephthalamide) (PPTA) fibers having the surface modified by carboxymethyl groups in order to predict the Young's modulus from the properties of the constituent materials over a wide temperature range. The model in which the modified PPTA fibers are dispersed in ionomer matrix in a three‐dimensional network is composed of series and parallel models. A good agreement between calculated and experimental values was eventually obtained. For comparision, the complex modulus of the composite was also evaluated by application of the Halpin‐Tsai equation modified by Nielsen. The calculated values agreed with the observed values below 240 K, whereas the calculated values above 260 K were significantly lower than the observed moduli.