Effect of Environment on the Two-Body Abrasion of Polyether Etherketone (PEEK)/Carbon Fiber Composites

The wear behavior of fibrous polymer composites in various environments was investigated and the measured tribological data were correlated with the observed microstructures. The observed data were explained by means of theoretical wear/friction equations derived previously from fracture mechanics concepts. Wear and friction were measured in tests of carbon-fiber reinforced polyether etherketone (PEEK) sliding against emery paper in a pin-on-table abrasive wear machine. Results were obtained in air and also wing water and oil as lubricants. The wear rate decreased as the normal load increased and a fatigue wear mechanism based on microstructural observations was employed to explain the measured data. The microstructural features strongly implied a damage accumulation mechanism via crack initiation/propagation along tile weak path. Presented as an American Society Of Lubrication Engineers paper at the ASME/ASLE Tribology Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 20–22, 1986