The role of the fibrillar structures in the compressive behavior of rigid‐rod polymeric fibers

The buckling of a fiber with a fibrillar microstructure is examined in light of all possible buckling modes. Parametric studies are done at variously assumed morphological levels, from a fibril down to a molecular chain, and it is shown that the buckling mode could, be different depending on the dimensional level of the individual buckling unit and the degree of interaction between the buckling elements. It is argued that fibrillar, instability is the principal reason for the low compressive strength of rigid‐rod polymeric fibers, and alternative approaches to improve the degree of interaction between the fibrils are considered.