On the wear behaviour of short-fibre-reinforced peek composites

Abstract

The wear behaviour of short-glass- and carbon-fibre-reinforced composites of polyetheretherketone is investigated under extremely different types of wear loading. Sliding wear tests against smooth steel surfaces were conducted, revealing that the addition of short fibres reduced the wear rate under certain conditions of sliding speed and contact pressure, especially with carbon fibre reinforcement. The wear rate is also influenced by a change in the matrix morphology due to a thermal treatment. Improvements in the wear resistance against severe abrasive paper can, however, not be achieved by short-fibre reinforcement. © 1987.