Influence of polyether ether ketone particles on thermal characteristics of carbon/epoxy composite

High-temperature engineering thermoplastic fillers are gaining popularity for enhancing the toughness of the inherently brittle composites, making them a potential candidate for low velocity impact applications. The incorporation of pre-formed immiscible thermoplastic filler into a thermoset matrix to boost its toughness offers many advantages over the miscible phase-separated filler. In this study, immiscible polyether ether ketone (PEEK) microparticles were utilized to increase the toughness of the carbon epoxy composite. A vigorous mechanical stirring was employed to properly distribute the PEEK particles in the matrix. The wet compression molding technique was used to make the composites. The effectiveness of the PEEK particles was analyzed by considering the coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) in the axial and through thickness directions, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and thermal conductivity of the composite material. The significant increase in the damping factor by 49% of the composite material reflects the strong influence of the PEEK particles in the impact behavior of the epoxy matrix-based composite material. However, a decrease in the behavior of the storage modulus by 23% and thermal conductivity by 24% of the hybrid composite is found in this study. The CTE in the longitudinal direction was found to be decreased, while in the Z-direction it is found to be increased with the increasing temperature. The glass transition temperature of the composite was found to be increased with the addition of the PEEK particles.