Wear performance of PEEK-carbon fabric composites with strengthened fiber-matrix interface

Powder-prepreg method was used to develop composites with untreated and cold remote nitrogen-oxygen (0.5%) plasma (CRNOP) treated carbon fabric (CF) (67-68 wt%) and poly-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK) followed by the evaluation of physical and mechanical properties. Tribo-evaluation in adhesive wear mode was done by sliding a composite pin against a mild steel disc under various loads. It was observed that surface treated fabric composites were excellent in mechanical (tensile, flexural and ILSS - interlaminar shear strength) and tribological properties. A low coefficient of friction (0.21-0.28) and wear rates (1-12 x 10(-15) m(3)/Nm) were recorded for these composites. An enhanced fiber-matrix adhesion was found to play a key role for improvement in performance properties. Raman spectroscopic and SEM studies on worn composites were done and correlated with the wear performance. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.