Wettability and Frictional Studies of PEEK Composites against Co-Cr Alloys with Surface Textures

Abstract

With the aim of promoting the qualities for total hip joint replacement, the wettability and tribological behaviors of PEEK composites pins with two sets of different fillers (PEEK/CF or PEEK/CF/PTFE/graphite) against Co-Cr alloy discs with five categories of surface textures (polished, orthogonal, spiral, r-θ, and orthogonal combined with spiral) were explored. It is revealed that the existence of CF in PEEK matrix increases the hydrophilicity in addition to the strength of PEEK, while the addition of PTFE increases the hydrophobicity of PEEK. The Co-Cr alloy discs with hydrophilic properties can be adjusted as hydrophobic, with the depth of textured grooves exceeding the critical sag height determined by the contact angle and the groove width. It can be concluded that PEEK/CF/PTFE/graphite composite has a lower wear rate than PEEK only reinforced with CF against Co-Cr alloy, both without surface texture and with shallow or deep grooves. The existence of shallow grooves on the disc surface could help the PEEK blends to achieve a steady friction against Co-Cr alloy in addition to collecting the worn debris. PEEK blend pins with 10 vol% CF, 10 vol% PTFE and 10 vol% graphite can achieve a lower friction coefficient of no more than 0.2 against Co-Cr alloy discs with shallow grooves around 3.5 μm in orthogonal or spiral textures.