| Abstract: | The manufacture of thermoplastic composites normally involves compression molding that generates fiber dislocations known as kink‐bands, which create stress concentrations able to cause the premature compression failure of a composite; nevertheless, the kink‐band influence over the interfacial performance or failure of a composite tested under tension is not fully understood. This work uses Raman spectroscopy as a tool to map the axial stress distribution around a kink‐band in an aramid/low density polyethylene single fiber composite. The stress distribution along the fiber was fitted to a generalized shear‐lag model to calculate the interfacial shear stress; its maximum was found around the kink‐band where the fiber interface was still bonded to the matrix, defining a localized stress concentration. POLYM. COMPOS., 31:1817–1817, 2010. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers. |
