Polyetheretherketone (PEEK)‐based composites are used in aerospace applications due to their high mechanical strengths at temperatures >250°C, excellent chemical resistance properties, and outstanding dimensional stability. In this work, varying amounts of three different carbon fillers (carbon black [CB], graphene nanoplatelets [GNP], and carbon fiber [CF]) were added to PEEK to produce conductive composites for aerospace applications. Researchers extruded, injection molded, and performed electrical and thermal conductivity (TC) and tensile tests on GNP/PEEK, CB/PEEK, CF/PEEK, and CB/CF/PEEK composites. Five formulations could be used for electrostatic dissipative applications: 15 wt% GNP/PEEK, 20 wt% CF/PEEK, 2.5 wt% CB/10 wt% CF/PEEK, and 2.5 wt% CB/20 wt% CF/PEEK. Seven formulations could be used for electrically conductive applications: 30 wt% CF/PEEK, 5 wt% CB/PEEK, 7.5 wt% CB/PEEK, 10 wt% CB/PEEK, 2.5 wt% CB/30 wt% CF/PEEK, 5 wt% CB/30 wt% CF/PEEK, and 7.5 wt% CB/30 wt% CF/PEEK. The most conductive composite produced was 7.5 wt% CB/30 wt% CF/PEEK, which had an electrical resisitivity (1/electrical conductivity) of 0.56 Ω cm, a TC twice that of the neat PEEK, a tensile strength of 145 MPa, and a tensile modulus of 18.4 GPa. Per the authors' knowledge, properties on these GNP/PEEK, CB/PEEK, and CB/CF/PEEK composites have not been previously reported in the open literature. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:E807–E816, 2018. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers

The mechanical performance of advanced composite materials depends to a large extent on the adhesion between the fiber and matrix. This is especially true for maximizing the strength of unidirectional composites in off-axis directions. The materials of interest in this study were PAN-based carbon fibers (XA and A4) used in combination with a thermoset (EPON 828 epoxy) and a thermoplastic (liquid crystal polymer) matrix. The effect of surface treatment and sizing were evaluated by measuring the short-beam shear (SBS) and transverse flexural (TF) tensile strengths of unidirectional composites. Results indicated that fiber surface treatment improves the shear and transverse tensile strengths for both thermosetting and thermoplastic matrix/carbon fiber-reinforced unidirectional composites. A small additional improvement in strengths was observed as the result of sizing-treated fibers for the epoxy composites. Scanning electron microscope photomicrographs were used to determine the location of composite failure, relative to the fiber-matrix interface. Finally, the epoxy composites SBS and TF strengths appear to be limited to the maximum transverse tensile strength of the epoxy matrix, while the thermoplastic composite SBS and TF strengths are limited by the LCP matrix shear and transverse tensile strengths, respectively.

ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVArticleNEXTInfluence of support on the performance of coal liquid hydrotreating catalystsRobert L. McCormick, Julia A. King, Todd R. King, and Henry W. Haynes Jr.Cite this: Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 1989, 28, 7, 940–947Publication Date (Print):July 1, 1989Publication History Published online1 May 2002Published inissue 1 July 1989https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ie00091a009https://doi.org/10.1021/ie00091a009research-articleACS PublicationsRequest reuse permissionsArticle Views95Altmetric-Citations15LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InRedditEmail Other access optionsGet e-Alertsclose Get e-Alerts