Effect of Counterface Materials on the Tribological Performance of Polyetheretherketone

MA Hongqian; WANG Youqiang; YU Yan; YANG Ziyi

doi:10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2025.23.007

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Surface Technology ›› 2025, Vol. 54 ›› Issue (23) : 101-113. DOI: 10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2025.23.007

Friction, Wear and Lubrication

Effect of Counterface Materials on the Tribological Performance of Polyetheretherketone

MA Hongqian¹, WANG Youqiang^1,2,*, YU Yan¹, YANG Ziyi¹

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Abstract

To select more suitable matching materials for PEEK and carbon fiber reinforced poly-ether-ether-ketone (CF/PEEK) composites under demanding working conditions, the work aims to investigate PEEK and CF/PEEK composites. With a self-made friction and wear tester, dry friction and water-lubricated tests were conducted under varying loads on friction pairs composed of PEEK and CF/PEEK and three different counterface balls: GCr15 steel, NP-coated steel, and Si₃N₄ ceramic.
The results indicated that, regardless of whether PEEK was paired with metal or ceramic materials, the incorporation of carbon fibers (CF) significantly enhanced the tribological performance of PEEK under dryfriction conditions. CF reinforcement significantly enhanced the tribological properties of PEEK composites. Under fixed sliding speed and heavy-load conditions, all three friction pairs maintained stable friction and wear performance. Specifically, under both dry and water-lubricated conditions, the coefficient of friction (COF) initially increased and then decreased with the increasing load, reaching its minimum at 100 N. This trend was attributed to the increased real contact area at moderate loads, facilitating the formation of lubricating and transfer films, thereby improving friction performance. However, beyond a critical load (100 N), frictional heating became dominant, counteracting the benefits of the increased contact area. Excessive interfacial temperature reduced the shear strength and rigidity of the material, leading to localized stress concentration and degraded friction performance. Meanwhile, the wear rate exhibited a gradual increase with load due to thermal softening, enhanced adhesive interactions, and elevated Hertzian contact stresses, which promoted plastic deformation and microcrack initiation.
In water-lubricated conditions, the difference in COF between CF/PEEK and pure PEEK is minimal. In some extreme cases, CF/PEEK even exhibits a slightly higher COF than PEEK. On one hand, the surface roughness of PEEK-based composites increases with greater exposure of CF on their sliding surfaces, leading to degradation of water lubrication effectiveness. On the other hand, while the incorporation of CF enhances the mechanical strength and wear resistance of PEEK, the interfacial characteristics between CF and the PEEK matrix under water-lubricated conditions may restrict lubrication performance. Furthermore, the frictional behavior of CF/PEEK composites in water-lubricated environments is likely governed by the combined effects of interfacial shear strength and thermal phenomena. The high thermal conductivity of CF may induce localized temperature rise at the contact interface, potentially compromising the stabilityand effectiveness of the lubricating film.
Among the three friction pair materials (GCr15 ball, NP ball, Si₃N₄ ball) paired with PEEK and CF/PEEK, the material compatibility follows the order: Si₃N₄-PEEK > GCr15-PEEK > NP-PEEK, and Si₃N₄-CF/PEEK > GCr15-CF/PEEK > NP-CF/PEEK. This is primarily attributed to the superior material properties of Si₃N₄ ceramics, including ultra-high hardness, exceptional wear resistance, excellent corrosion resistance, and high-temperature stability, which enables the formation of an optimal transfer film during sliding against polymers, thereby maintaining stable tribological performance. This study provides experimental evidence for the application of PEEK composites as water-lubricated bearings.

Key words

polyetheretherketone / carbon fiber reinforced poly-ether-ether-ketone / modification / GCr15 bearing steel / nickel-plated steel / Si₃N₄ ceramic / frictional wear

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MA Hongqian, WANG Youqiang, YU Yan, YANG Ziyi. Effect of Counterface Materials on the Tribological Performance of Polyetheretherketone[J]. Surface Technology. 2025, 54(23): 101-113 https://doi.org/10.16490/j.cnki.issn.1001-3660.2025.23.007

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Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (52074161); Shandong Natural Science Foundation of China (ZR2021ME063); Mount Taishan Scholar Project (tsqn202211177)