Polyaryl ether ketone based composites for space applications: Influence of electron beam radiation on mechanical and thermal properties

Abstract In this work, the thermo- mechanical properties of Polyaryl ether ketone (PAEK) reinforced with functionalized carbon micro fibres (F- CF) was studied before and after electron beam irradiation. The F- CF in PAEK was melt compounded in a twin screw extruder and then injection moulded. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was carried out to ensure the distribution of F- CF in PAEK. Various characterization techniques like tensile properties analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis was carried out on these polymer composites. A considerable increase was observed in the mechanical properties upto 0.6 wt. % of F- CF in PAEK before exposure to radiation. The percentage elongation decreased for the samples which were exposed to irradiation. The thermal properties analysis indicated the improvement in melting and degradation temperature of the composites after exposure. The enhancement in the various properties could be due to the action of cross linking mechanism in the PAEK structure during electron beam irradiation.