Consolidation by spark plasma sintering of polyimide and polyetheretherketone

This article presents two high‐temperature thermoplastic powders which were sintered by spark plasma sintering in order to get homogeneous mechanical properties. Dense polyimide (PI) and polyetheretherketone (PEEK) specimens were obtained at temperatures as low as 320°C for PI and 200°C for PEEK, respectively. Relative densities higher than 99% were reached for both materials. In order to characterize their properties, in situ measurements with compression and hardness tests were carried out on sintered samples. This method allowed to obtain polymeric materials with improved mechanical properties.