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Polyetheretherketone (PEEK)

PEEK is an otherwise-unclassified thermoplastic material. It can have a moderately high tensile strength among the thermoplastics in the database.

The properties of PEEK include four common variations. This page shows summary ranges across all of them. For more specific values, follow the links immediately below. The graph bars on the material properties cards further below compare PEEK to: otherwise unclassified thermoplastics (top), all thermoplastics (middle), and the entire database (bottom). A full bar means this is the highest value in the relevant set. A half-full bar means it's 50% of the highest, and so on.

Mechanical Properties

Compressive (Crushing) Strength

120 to 300 MPa 17 to 44 x 103 psi

Elastic (Young's, Tensile) Modulus

4.0 to 24 GPa 0.58 to 3.5 x 106 psi

Elongation at Break

1.6 to 43 %

Flexural Modulus

3.8 to 19 GPa 0.55 to 2.7 x 106 psi

Flexural Strength

150 to 330 MPa 21 to 47 x 103 psi

Impact Strength: Notched Izod

78 to 120 J/m 1.5 to 2.2 ft-lb/in

Rockwell R Hardness

120

Shear Strength

50 to 100 MPa 7.3 to 15 x 103 psi

Tensile Strength: Ultimate (UTS)

97 to 200 MPa 14 to 30 x 103 psi

Thermal Properties

Glass Transition Temperature

240 °C 460 °F

Heat Deflection Temperature At 1.82 MPa (264 psi)

160 to 300 °C 320 to 580 °F

Maximum Temperature: Autoignition

600 °C 1100 °F

Maximum Temperature: Decomposition

570 °C 1060 °F

Maximum Temperature: Mechanical

330 °C 630 °F

Melting Onset (Solidus)

340 °C 640 °F

Specific Heat Capacity

1390 to 1700 J/kg-K 0.33 to 0.41 BTU/lb-°F

Thermal Conductivity

0.25 to 0.93 W/m-K 0.14 to 0.54 BTU/h-ft-°F

Thermal Expansion

15 to 52 µm/m-K

Other Material Properties

Density

1.3 to 1.5 g/cm3 82 to 93 lb/ft3

Electrical Resistivity Order of Magnitude

3.0 to 14 10x Ω-m

Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI)

38 %

Water Absorption After 24 Hours

0.060 to 0.3 %

Water Absorption At Saturation

0.22 to 0.5 %

Common Calculations

Stiffness to Weight: Axial

1.5 to 10 points

Stiffness to Weight: Bending

36 to 73 points

Strength to Weight: Axial

20 to 41 points

Strength to Weight: Bending

36 to 55 points

Thermal Diffusivity

0.1 to 0.51 mm2/s

Thermal Shock Resistance

34 to 57 points

Followup Questions

Further Reading

ASTM F2026: Standard Specification for Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) Polymers for Surgical Implant Applications

Reinforced Plastics Durability, Geoffrey Pritchard (editor), 1999

SPI Plastics Engineering Handbook of the Society of the Plastics Industry, Inc., 5th ed., Michael L. Berins (editor), 2000

Modern Plastics Handbook, Charles A. Harper (editor), 1999

Plastics Materials, 7th ed., J. A. Brydson, 1999

Advanced Materials in Automotive Engineering, Jason Rowe (editor), 2012