Abstract
The feasibility of using FSC for fiber-filled polymer composites is questionable since the typical FSC sample thickness is comparable to the fiber diameter. In this study, X-ray computed tomography (XCT) with an ultra-high-resolution was performed to reconstruct the interior structure of poly(ether ether) ketone (PEEK) composite pellets. Using reconstructed 3D XCT matrices of PEEK resin, glass fibers, and voids, PEEK pellets sliced with different directions and sampling frequencies were analyzed to mimic FSC sample preparation. For the sample thicknesses less than 50 μm, PEEK samples sliced perpendicular to the fiber flow direction had good filler homogeneity and always had a lower coefficient of variation than pellets sliced along the fiber flow direction. This conclusion is later supported by the isothermal crystallization kinetics of PEEK and its composites investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and fast scanning calorimetry over a wide temperature range relevant to processing.
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