Rheological Behavior and Processing of High-Performance Engineering Polymers

Abstract

Advanced engineering applications increasingly demand high-performance polymers with exceptional mechanical and thermal properties; however, predicting their processing behavior remains challenging due to complex rheological responses and the lack of integrated experimental–simulation frameworks. This study introduces a novel integrated experimental–computational methodology that combines comprehensive rheological characterization, multi-model fitting, injection molding simulation, and multiphysics finite element analysis (FEA) to investigate the processing capabilities of Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK) for aircraft bearing applications. Unlike conventional approaches that treat rheological analysis, processing simulation, and structural assessment separately, our framework establishes a coupled material–process–performance relationship through: (i) systematic thermal and mechanical characterization, establishing PEEK’s high melting temperature (343 °C), degradation temperature (575 °C), and tensile strength (95 MPa); (ii) comparative rheological model fitting, demonstrating that the Carreau–Yasuda model accurately predicts non-linear flow behavior with R2 = 0.97, outperforming simpler Power Law and Cross models; (iii) CAD-based injection molding simulation, revealing homogeneous flow distribution and optimized pressure profiles; and (iv) thermo-mechanical FEA, coupling thermal expansion with structural stress analysis to evaluate bearing integrity under operational conditions. The key novelty lies in the seamless integration of experimental rheology with multiphysics simulation, validated through rigorous statistical analysis achieving low RMSE (0.6854 MPa for stress, 0.003220 mm for deformation) and high correlation coefficients (R2 = 0.97). The results confirm a uniform flow distribution, stable structural performance, and reliable thermo-mechanical response, establishing PEEK’s suitability for high-performance aerospace components. This work contributes a comprehensive, scalable, and transferable framework that bridges experimental analysis and advanced simulation, enabling the predictive optimization of polymer processing parameters and significantly enhancing manufacturing reliability for industrial applications. The findings demonstrate the applicability of the experimental–computational analysis to the investigated PEEK bearing configuration under the specified processing and simulation conditions. Its specific contribution is the application of comparative rheological model fitting and experimentally characterized PEEK properties to the selected bearing geometry and processing conditions.