An in vitro wear behavior analysis of polymer composite for biomedical application

The tribological performance of basalt fiber reinforced PEEK material especially used as a biomaterial in many biomedical and dental applications is of interest. The specimens of three different weight fractions of PEEK and basalt fiber are fabricated as per ASTM G99 standards. The prepared specimens are having PEEK and basalt fiber in the weight percentage of 90:10, 80:20 and 70:30 ratio and named as PBC 1, PBC 2 and PBC 3 respectively. The specimens are subjected to pin-on-disc test using EN31 steel as the sliding disc material. The hardness of PBC 2 specimen shows a better value of 50.74 HRB. Wear resistance is comparatively less when Basalt weight percentage increases from 10% to 20%, but further increase of basalt fiber in the composite, the wear resistance drops down. Similarly, the COF values also noted high for PBC 2 compared to pure PEEK, PBC 1 and PBC 3 composites. PBC 2 sample is found to be better with high wear resistance.