Effect of Reinforcing Carbon Fiber Morphology on Tribological Behavior of PEEK Polymers

This paper evaluates the effect of reinforcing carbon fiber morphology on friction and wear behavior of polyether ether ketone (PEEK) under relatively severe high-speed sliding contact conditions. Three materials are evaluated in the study: (1) un-reinforced PEEK, (2) short and randomly oriented carbon fiber reinforced PEEK (450FC30), and (3) continuous woven fiber reinforced PEEK (CPK53). Test results show that the existence and morphology of the reinforcement has a significant effect on both the wear and friction under these severe contact conditions.