Experimental and numerical investigations of wear behaviors of short-carbon-fiber reinforced polyetherimide composite

Abstract Tribological properties of short-carbon-fiber reinforced polyetherimide (SCF/PEI) composites have already been reported experimentally. However, detailed wear mechanisms and simulation work of these composites during a wear process with accompanied temperature changes have not been documented. In the present work, the evolution of wear behaviors of SCF/PEI composite within a single sliding wear process is systematically investigated by unlubricated wear tests and finite element method (FEM) simulations. A measured data based thermo-viscoelastic constitutive relation of the SCF/PEI composite is established. Frictional heat is considered as the heat source to generate temperature rise. Observations of worn surfaces and debris as well as FEM simulation analyses of contact temperature and pressure variations of the SCF/PEI composite are conducted to reveal wear mechanisms.