Abrasive wear studies on composites of PEEK and PES with modified surface of carbon fabric

Carbon fabric (CF) being inert towards the matrix, the quality of its adhesion with the matrix is poor and hence, needs treatment to enhance fiber–matrix bonding. In this paper, cold remote nitrogen oxygen plasma (CRNOP) treatment to CF was employed to improve fiber–matrix adhesion. Composites were developed using CF with polyethersulphone (PES) and polyetheretherketone (PEEK) matrices. Performance enhancement due to CF treatment was quantified by improvement in mechanical and wear resistance (WR) properties. A fairly good linearity was observed for specific wear rate (K0×ILSS) as a function of a factor (μP/E).