The Kevlar Story—An Advanced Materials Case Study

Abstract

Review: The need for a fiber with the heat resistance of asbestos and the stiffness of glass led to the development of Kevlar which has a molecular orientation parallel to the fiber axis (see figure). Brian Phillips et al. trace the many faceted course of the development of Kevlar from the initial scientific discovery to the opening of a 45 million 1b/yr production plant. magnified image