Research Paper On Poly-Paraphthalamide

Poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide, or Kevlar, is a strong polymer that has been used in a wide range of applications from clothing to spacecraft. The material was chosen because of its relevance in my life as a musician due its application in marching snare drum heads. Kevlar's inception dates back to the late 1960s and early 70s in a DuPont facility, where a young woman named Stephanie Kwolek was researching high-performance fibers for use in reducing gasoline consumption in automobiles. Her team was to find a stronger material for reinforcing tires to allow them to be lighter, stiffer, and more efficient in gas consumption. One day during her work, she discovered that the polymer she was working with, Poly-paraphenylene terephthalamide (See Figure 1), was forming liquid crystals in a solution. It's molecular properties differed from the typical polymers in that it was straight as opposed to being curved. This struck her as odd, and she approached the technician about running the solution through the polymer spinneret, a device that transforms a polymer solution …show more content…
In body armor, layers of Kevlar are used to slow down a bullet and break it down. These layers of Kevlar slow the bullet down enough so that it is stopped by the ceramic plate on the inside of the vest. Kevlar is also used in drum heads. The Kevlar is tightened to a high tension to create a cutting sound that pierces through the marching band. Many other materials like Mylar, aren't capable of being stretched like Kevlar while also maintaining the durability. The drum heads are made with Kevlar at the base and sealed with resin and a nylon layer in order to flatten out the drum head and make it more suitable for playing. The strength of the Kevlar allows the drum head to be struck at high velocities and force with very little wear, allowing the heads to last much longer before being replaced. (How