Paracrystallinity-modulus relationships in kevlar aramid fibers

Meridional x-ray reflections of Kevlar (TM) aramid fibers have been analyzed to provide direct information about fine structure in the direction of the fiber axis. In particular, these reflections have been studied to provide evidence for a one-dimensional paracrystalline structure in Kevlar and to seek quantitative structure-property relationships based on a paracrystalline structure model. In a series of Kevlar fibers an excellent correlation is found between paracrystalline distortion factor gII and tensile modulus, with gII decreasing from 2.33% to 1.69% as modulus increases from 75 GPa to 125 GPa. Surprisingly, however, there is no systematic increase in axial crystallite length within this series in spite of heat treatment.