MECHANICAL AND TRIBOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF MONOLITH AND COATING POLYETHERETHERKETONE

Abstract

In this work, a comparative analysis of the micromechanical and tribological properties of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) in bulk and coating form was performed. The PEEK 708 coating was applied on a Ti6Al4V titanium alloy flat specimen using the electrophoretic deposition method. The micromechanical properties were determined through indentation tests performed using the Vickers method and scratch tests. Based on research work, the Vickers hardness (HV), elastic modulus (E), scratch hardness (HS), and Micro Mar Resistance (MMR) were determined. The tribological properties were defined by the coefficient of friction (fs and fw), which was obtained in scratch tests and ball-on-disk tests. The results of this research indicate, despite the slightly higher Vickers hardness (HV) of the PEEK 708 coating (HV=350 MPa, HS=300 MPa) relative to PEEK bulk (HV=300 MPa, HS=210 MPa), that there is an almost 40% difference between the scratch hardness (HS) values of these PEEK forms. It appears from the result analysis in this paper that testing methods to determine the micromechanical and tribological properties of PEEK in monolith form can be used for both PEEK coatings. Under certain test conditions, the impact of the substrate properties on the results of the PEEK 708 coating was not found.