Prediction of Effective Elastic Properties of PEEK-CF Composites Subjected to Thermomechanical Loading

The micromechanics approach to studying the effect of filler’s mass fraction on the effective elastic properties of the composites is investigated. Poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) as matrix and carbon fiber as fillers are used due to excellent nucleation density compared to pure PEEK. The scheme used depends on the single inclusion problem which effectively predicted the mechanical properties considering the orientation, aspect ratio, and mass fraction of the fillers. The main outcome of the study is the moduli variation for 10, 20, and 30% mass fraction reinforced PEEK composites subjected to mechanical and thermal loading simultaneously. It has been observed that above 63 °C, the composite’s elastic properties decrease by 30% mass fraction of CF in PEEK. The maximum failure strength of the composite is 105.32 MPa obtained for a 30% mass fraction of CF in PEEK. In general, the moduli and strength of the composites decrease with the increase in temperature due to the structural change in the polymer.