Significant friction and wear reduction by assembling two individual PEEK composites with specific functionalities

In the present work, two polyetheretherketone (PEEK) composites, i.e. conventional composite filled with short carbon fibers (SCF) and nanocomposite filled with SiO2 nanopartides, were mechanically assembled side-by-side using adhesive. The tribological behavior of the assembled sample was investigated using a Pin-On-Disc tribometer with the two composites' surfaces rubbing in succession along the same wear track on a steel counterpart. It was demonstrated that the assembled sample exhibited a greatly enhanced tribological performance in comparison to those obtained when the composites ran respectively. A synergetic role of the conventional composite and the nanocomposite was therefore identified. Moreover, it was manifested that the assembled sample showed a tribological performance comparable to the hybrid nanocomposite filled with combined SCF and SiO2 nanoparticles. The tribological mechanisms dominating the synergetic effect of the two composites were analyzed based on direct comparisons of tribofilm morphologies. It is expected that the present work provides a new design concept for tribo-enginnering components, i.e. assembling individual composites with specific functionalities. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.