Polyetheretherketone (PEEK for short) not only has excellent mechanical, heat and chemical resistance, but also has a low coefficient of friction and good load-carrying meshing properties. It is another type of good self-lubricating material after polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). It performs better than PTFE in terms of load carrying capacity and abrasion resistance, and is particularly suitable for harsh environments such as non-lubrication, low speed and high load, high temperature, humidity, pollution, and corrosion. On this basis, the addition of carbon fiber not only enhances its mechanical properties, but also has an important impact on its friction properties.
At room temperature, the 30% carbon fiber reinforced PEEK composite has doubled its tensile strength compared to when it was not reinforced, and tripled at 150 ° C. At the same time, the reinforced composite has improved impact strength, flexural strength, and modulus. It has also been greatly improved, the elongation has decreased sharply, and the thermal deformation temperature can exceed 300 ° C. The impact energy absorption rate of the composite material directly affects the performance of the composite material under impact. The carbon fiber reinforced PEEK composite material has a specific energy absorption capacity of up to 180kJ / kg.
The reinforcing effect of carbon fiber can also resist the thermal softening of PEEK and form a very high-strength transfer film to a certain extent, which can effectively protect the contact area. Therefore, the friction coefficient and specific wear rate of carbon fiber reinforced PEEK composites are significantly higher than those of pure PEEK low. Under the same experimental conditions, the friction and wear resistance of carbon fiber reinforced PEEK composites is significantly better than that of glass fiber PEEK composites. The improvement effect of carbon fibers on the abrasion resistance of the materials is more than five times that of the same amount of glass fibers. Carbon fiber reinforced PEEK composite materials are used to make parts, which can effectively avoid such problems as metal or ceramic materials prone to surface cracks, and their excellent tribological properties even exceed ultra-high molar mass polyethylene.
The main application areas of carbon fiber reinforced PEEK include the following four aspects:
1.Electronics field
PEEK can maintain good electrical insulation under severe environments such as high temperature, high pressure and high humidity, and has characteristics such as not being easily deformed in a wide temperature range. Therefore, it is used as an ideal electrical insulation material in the field of electronics and electrical appliances. . Carbon fiber-reinforced polyetheretherketone has further improved mechanical properties, chemical resistance, radiation resistance, and high temperature resistance, which further expands its application area. For example, according to the characteristics of carbon fiber reinforcement to prevent the wafer from electrostatic discharge and other characteristics, the US H-Square company uses it to make vacuum chucks to ensure that components in the silicon wafer vacuum handling system will not cause pollution and instant discharge to damage the wafer.
2.Aerospace
Because PEEK has the advantages of low density and good processability, it is easy to directly process into high-demand parts, and carbon fiber-reinforced polyetheretherketone composite materials further enhance the overall performance of polyetheretherketone. Increasingly it is applied to aircraft manufacturing. For example, the fairing used in the Boeing 757-200 series aircraft is made of carbon fiber reinforced PEEK material. In addition, the Gereedschappen Fabrick company in Amsterdam, the Netherlands uses 30% carbon fiber reinforced PEEK composite materials to make larger parts, and proves that its mechanical properties can be applied to aircraft balancing devices.
3.Automotive field
The energy consumption of a car is closely related to the weight of the car. Lightweight cars can not only reduce fuel consumption and exhaust emissions, but also improve power and safety, which is an effective way to save energy. In addition to the lightweight design of the car, the use of lightweight materials is a more direct approach. Carbon fiber-reinforced polyetheretherketone composites appear more and more frequently in the automotive industry due to their advantages such as low density, good performance, and convenient technology, and they show great potential to replace steel with plastic. For example, Robert Bosch GmbH uses carbon fiber reinforced PEEK instead of metal as a functional part of ABS. Lighter composite parts reduce the moment of inertia, thereby minimizing the reaction time and greatly enhancing the reaction performance of the entire system. Compared to the cost of metal parts.
4. Medical field
There are dozens of kinds of medical polymer materials currently available, such as polytetrafluoroethylene, polylactic acid, and silicone rubber, but from a biomedical point of view, these materials are not ideal, and there are some side effects during use. Because of its non-toxicity, light weight, and abrasion resistance, it is the closest material to human bones and can be organically combined with the body. Therefore, polyetheretherketone resin and its composites have been intensively studied and applied as orthopedic implants in recent years For spine, joints and other aspects. Related studies have proven that carbon fiber-reinforced polyetheretherketone has higher abrasion resistance and better biocompatibility compared with the traditional high-molecular polyethylene of acetabular prosthesis. It is a future acetabular prosthesis. Ideal material. Comparing the cytotoxicity of carbon fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone and titanium alloy, it was found that the cell compatibility of the two was similar. Carbon fiber reinforced polyetheretherketone composite material could be used as an alternative material for future orthopedic fixed instruments. Typical domestic applications are medical devices such as carbon fiber reinforced PEEK orthopedic brackets and sight holders used by a Wuxi Co., Ltd., which perform well in terms of strength, corrosion resistance, abrasion resistance, and heat and humidity resistance. It is expected to be more in Application in high-end medical equipment.