Lightweight three‐dimensional woven Kevlar/glass hybrid composites with enhanced mechanical, dielectric, and thermal insulation properties

Abstract

Polymer composites with lightweight, ultralow dielectric constant, excellent thermal insulation and mechanical properties are in high demand in aerospace, transport, wireless communications and other fields. In this work, the three‐dimensional woven Kevlar/glass hybrid composites (3DKGC) with lightweight, high strength, excellent dielectric and thermal insulation properties were obtained with the Kevlar fiber and glass fiber as the raw materials. The results showed that the volume content of air in 3DKGC is over 82% and the volume density is as low as 0.29 g·cm−3, while the compression strength is as high as 7.68 MPa. 3DKGC exhibits an ultra‐low dielectric constant of 1.21. The wave transmission performance of 3DKGC was simulated using the CST software. The simulation results showed that 3DKGC has a return loss of 0.036 and a gain of 0.9982. Moreover, the 3DKGC provides superior thermal insulation than three‐dimensional woven Kevlar composites (3DKC) and conventional polystyrene foams. In summary, this work offers an attractive material that holds significant potential for application in aerospace, wireless communications and other fields where lightweight multi‐purpose composites are required.Highlights 3D woven Kevlar/glass hybrid composites (3DKGC) were proposed and fabricated. 3DKGC exhibits low density of 0.29 g·cm−3 but high compression stress (7.68 MPa). 3DKGC possesses outstanding dielectric and thermal insulation properties. 3DKGC leverages the benefits of cost‐effectiveness and holistic functionality.