Matrix resin PEEKS

Two series of blends based on PEEK are available from Sumitomo, PEEK/LCP (Sumiploy EK) and PEEK/PES (Sumiploy SK). The blends are to be processed by injection molding. The critical factors affecting performance of both series of blends are crystallinity of the matrix resin (PEEK) and blend morphology. It is important to control the diameter-to-length ratio of LCP fibers or the particle size of PES dispersed in PEEK matrix to achieve the expected performance. 

The primary resin of interest is epoxy. Carbon-fiber-epoxy composites represent about 90% of CFRP production. The attractions of epoxy resins are that they polymerize without the generation of condensation products that can cause porosity, they exhibit little volumetric shrinkage during cure which reduces internal stresses, and they are resistant to most chemical environments. Other matrix resins of interest for carbon fibers include the thermosetting phenolics, polyimides, and polybismaleimides, as well as high-temperature thermoplastics such as polyether ether ketone (PEEK), polyethersulfone (PES), and polyphenylene sulfide. 

Figure 5.25 shows that the glass transition of composites containing carbon fibers may be affected by water uptake. The glass transition of carbon fiber/PEEK composite remains the same under diy and wet conditions. But carbon fiber/epoxy composites may experience a decrease in Tg as high as 77°C depending on the properties of the matrix resin." "... 

Young and Day [95] used the shift in Raman band frequency of the 1580-cm band in carbon fibers to determine the compressive strain imposed on the carbon fibers by thermal shrinkage and crystallization of the matrix polymer, PEEK, in a carbon fiber-PEEK composite. This allows the estimation of the interfacial stress between the fiber and the composite resin due to processing. The lack of interfacial stress is considered critical to the performance of many fiber-reinforced composites because the interfacial stress adds to the applied stress and can lead to early fracture or debonding of the fiber from the matrix. 

In most applications, polyester and vinyl ester resins are used as the matrix materials. Epoxies are also used, although they require longer cure times and do not release easily from the pultrusion dies. Hence, thermosetting resins are most commonly used with pultrusion, although some high-performance thermoplastics such as PEEK and polysulfone can also be accommodated. In addition to the resin, the resin bath may contain a curing agent (initiator, cf. Section 3.3.1.2), colorants, ultraviolet stabilizer, and fire retardant. 

Matrix materials for commercial composites are mainly liquid thermosetting resins such as polyesters, vinyl esters, epoxy resins, and bismaleimide resins. Thermoplastic composites are made from polyamides, polyether ether ketone (PEEK), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polysulfone, polyetherim-ide (PEI), and polyamide-imide (PAI). 

Engineering thermoplastics have also been used in preimpregnated constructions. The thermoplastic is thoroughly dispersed as a continuous phase in glass, other resins, carbon fibers (qv), or other reinforcement. Articles can be produced from these constructions using thermoforming techniques. For example, the aerospace industry uses polyetheretherketone (PEEK) in woven carbon-fiber tapes (26). Experimental uses of other composite constructions have been reported (27) (see also COMPOSITE MATERIALS, POLYMER-MATRIX). 

The most common advanced composites are made of thermosetting resins, such as epoxy polymers (the most popular singlematrix material), polyesters, vinyl esters, polyurethanes, polyimids, cianamids, bismaleimides, silicones, and melamine. Some of the most widely used thermoplastic polymers are polyvinyl chloride (PVC), PPE (poly[phenylene ether]), polypropylene, PEEK (poly [etheretherketone]), and ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene). The precise matrix selected for any given product depends primarily on the physical properties desired for that product. Each type of resin has its own characteristic thermal properties (such as melting point... 

The fibres are surface treated during manufacture to prepare adhesion with the polymer matrix, whether thermosetting (epoxy, polyester, phenoUc and polyimide resins) or thermoplastic (polypropylene. Nylon 6.6, PMMA, PEEK). The fibre surface is roughened by chemical etching and then coated with an appropriate size to aid bonding to the specified matrix. Whereas composite tensile strength is primarily a function of fibre... 

The fiber tension is very important as this controls the resin pick-up, normally 35-40% volume fraction. Tensions are about lN/1000 filaments for wet winding and 3N/1000 filaments for other types of winding. If the tension is too high, the fiber does not spread and is damaged by abrasion in the guide and if too low, produces waviness in the applied fiber. The type of fiber size and size content must be carefully chosen to help achieve good resin wet out. The principal matrix materials are epoxy, polyester and vinylester resins, but thermoplastic prepregs such as PEEK can also be applied. 

In addition to giving a measure of the deformation within fibres, the strain-induced band shifts in Raman spectra have been used to follow the micromechanics of fibre reinforcement in model polydiacetylene/epoxy composites (13). The critical length has been measured directly (13) and the effect of resin shrinkage has been examined in detail (14,15). It has also been demonstrated that the technique can be employed to measure fibre strain optically in a high voliine fraction Kevlar 49/epoxy composite (16). In this present paper we demonstrate that Raman microscopy can also be used to measure fibre strain in carbon fibre reinforced PEEK composites (17) and to give a direct measure of residual thermal shrinkage stresses in PEEK matrix composites. 

Many polymers, such as PE, PP, PVC, PS, PA-6,6, PC, due to their durability, PEEK (polyetherethreketone), by its thermostability, and polyepoxy and polyimide resins are widely used as matrix in polymer composites. 

Depending on the application, different matrix materials are used. Among the duromers, most common are polyester and epoxy resins. Thermoplastic matrix materials are polyethylene (pe) and polypropylene (pp), but the use of thermoplastics with aromatic rings on the chain and thus with increased temperature stability also grows. One example is polyetheretherketone (peek), characterised by high toughness and a glass temperature of about 150°C. 

Thermoplastic matrices may also be used with the microdrop method [58,61] A method to form thermoplastic matrix material microdrops in various fiber-thermoplastic systems has been reported by Gaur et al. [58]. They measured the interfacial shear strength of carbon and aramid fibers embedded in four thermoplastic resins polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS),... 

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