Advanced composite materials have become an ideal choice for many high-end components due to their various performance advantages such as lightweight, high strength, low creep, corrosion resistance, and fatigue resistance. Among them, having better wear resistance is one of the advantageous market competitiveness of this type of material. According to relevant research, over half of mechanical component failures are caused by wear, therefore wear resistance has become one of the important parameter indicators for high-performance precision components.
Special polymer material polyether ether ketone (PEEK) is a type of thermoplastic resin, which not only has strong mechanical properties, but also excellent heat resistance, friction resistance, corrosion resistance, and good electrical insulation performance. This makes PEEK qualified as a highly promising matrix material in composite materials.
However, in areas where high demands are placed on wear rate and frictional static electricity, polyether ether ketone alone cannot achieve ideal levels. In this case, reinforcement phases are generally added to the PEEK matrix to improve its anti-static and wear resistance. Commonly used reinforcement phases include glass fiber, carbon fiber, and SiO2 nanoparticles.
Among them, carbon fiber has a low density, high specific modulus and strength, especially thermoplastic composites reinforced with continuous carbon fiber exhibit excellent mechanical and friction resistance properties,
From the perspective of the material itself, carbon fiber has a sheet-like polycrystalline graphite structure, which inherently possesses anti-wear and lubrication properties. During friction tests, CF debris can act as a lubricant.
In terms of mechanical properties, continuous carbon fiber bundles can play a supporting role in composite materials under external pressure, weaken the interaction between friction pairs and the matrix material, and thereby reduce the wear rate of the material.
In terms of thermal conductivity, the addition of continuous carbon fibers effectively improves the thermal conductivity of polyether ether ketone materials, making the heat generated on the friction surface diffuse more quickly than a single polyether ether ketone material, thereby significantly reducing the friction surface temperature. While reducing adhesion to the substrate material, it further reduces the wear rate.
The addition of continuous carbon fibers also has a certain improvement effect on the thermal stability of PEEK composite materials, and the thermal stability of the material directly affects its wear resistance.
Experiments were conducted on components made of continuous carbon fiber reinforced PEEK composite materials, and it was found that under long-term high temperatures, the higher the residual carbon content of the components, the better their thermal stability. Although carbon fiber can also degrade into carbides at high temperatures for a long time, its binding with the resin matrix still exists. The higher the content of carbon fiber, the stronger the hindrance to the molecular chain movement of the resin matrix, and the higher the energy required for molecular chain movement.
However, the wear rate of continuous carbon fiber reinforced polyether ether ketone composite materials is also affected by the dispersion state of continuous carbon fiber bundles in PEEK matrix materials. Once the distribution of carbon fiber bundles is uneven, and even agglomeration occurs, the carbon fiber filaments are easily peeled off from the matrix material under the action of friction, leading to an increase in wear rate.
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