CF/PEEK aircraft corner sheet

With the development of the aerospace industry, the high performance, high reliability, and low cost of advanced aircraft, launch vehicles, and satellites are largely due to the widespread application of new materials and processes.
Advanced composite materials are an important component of high-tech aerospace products. Continuous CF/PEEK composite materials possess advantages such as extremely high heat resistance (heat distortion temperature up to 340°C), corrosion resistance, abrasion resistance, and good biocompatibility. They can effectively reduce the structural weight of aircraft, launch vehicles, and satellites, increase payload and range, and reduce costs.
Continuous CF/PEEK composite materials have very high mechanical properties and higher impact resistance than traditional thermoset composite materials, enabling the fabrication of aircraft landing gear skin components while simultaneously reducing aircraft weight.

Applications in the civil aircraft sector:
CF/PEEK composite materials are widely used in the leading edge of civil aircraft wings, as well as in internal aircraft parts, including seat frames, brackets, crossbeams, and air intakes.

In the aerospace field,
PEEK prepreg has been used in fully automatic tail fins, fuselage belly panels, fuselage skin, nose landing gear doors, main landing gear doors, wing panels, and the leading edge of horizontal stabilizers. As radar-transmitting materials, PEEK, PEKK, and PES resins possess good radar transmission and energy-saving projection characteristics; when radar waves encounter these resin-based composite materials, they are less likely to form creeping electromagnetic waves. Unidirectional reinforcement grades of carbon fiber and PEEK multifilament blended yarns are suitable for manufacturing helicopter rotors and some important airframe components.

PEEK, a typical high-performance thermoplastic resin, boasts outstanding properties. When combined with continuous carbon fiber, it effectively integrates the properties of both materials, resulting in even superior overall performance. Due to its excellent properties, continuous carbon fiber (CF)/PEEK thermoplastic composites have been widely applied in aerospace, medical, and automotive fields, and are currently a focus of research for universities, research institutions, and enterprises.

Advantages of continuous carbon fiber CF/PEEK composites:

1. Good fracture elongation and fracture toughness

PEEK, as a representative of high-performance thermoplastic polymers, has a fracture toughness of up to 2.0 KJ/m, which is 20 times that of epoxy resin.

2. Excellent anti-delamination and fatigue resistance

PEEK has good impact resistance, making it one of the most impact-resistant heat-resistant resins. At the same time, PEEK has high rigidity, good dimensional stability, and a low coefficient of linear expansion, exhibiting excellent long-term creep and fatigue resistance.

3. Excellent resistance to chemical corrosion

PEEK has excellent chemical resistance, and is highly resistant to acids, alkalis and almost all organic solvents. It is only corroded by halogens and strong acids at high temperatures, and is soluble in concentrated sulfuric acid at room temperature.

4. Excellent resistance to damp heat

PEEK has low moisture absorption, good resistance to damp heat, and can maintain good mechanical properties even under high temperature and high humidity. In addition, it has outstanding hydrolysis resistance, low moisture absorption and permeability, and is resistant to steam, water and seawater.

5. Excellent resistance to sliding wear and fretting wear.

PEEK maintains high wear resistance and low friction coefficient at 250 ℃.

6. Biocompatibility

Studies have shown that PEEK reinforced with short carbon fibers, when implanted into animals, exhibits low cytotoxicity, meets the cytotoxicity standards for medical implant materials, and has good blood compatibility and tissue compatibility.

7. X-ray transmission

PEEK has excellent transmission properties and does not produce artifacts like those seen with metal implants under X-ray or CT scans, making it convenient for patients to undergo medical examinations.