Figure 3.25 Fiber orientation in test specimens Figure 3.

26 Diagram of shear test apparatus

Gate Test
Clamp specimen Clamp

Punch

Gate
Flow

Specimen
Washer

Nut

Example of
less oriented
fiber orientation
ASTM D695
Fibers oriented
in flow direction
ISO 604
Shear Properties
A shear load forces the material under the load to slide
past the material not under the load in the direction of the
load. Shear strength is the resistance to yield or fracture
of a material under a shear load. Shear strength can also
be defined as the maximum load required to shear the
specimen being tested in such a manner that the moving
plane has completely cleared the stationary plane. Shear
strength values are important in designing structural
components because in actual applications the maximum
stress on a component is often a shear stress.
Hole
Punch diameter = 25.37 mm ( 0.999 in )
Hole diameter = 25.40 mm ( 1.000 in )
when the force is applied. The entire fixture was placed
in the testing machine, and the specimen was loaded
at a crosshead speed of 1.25 mm (0.05 in.) per minute.
The test was continued until a 25.4 mm (1.0 in.) disc
was punched out of the test specimen. The maximum
load was divided by the product of the circumference of
the punch and the thickness of the specimen to get the
maximum stress which is reported as the shear strength.
Results
The results of the shear strength testing are shown in
Table 3.13. Fiber reinforcement increases the tensile and
flexural strength dramatically but does not affect the shear
strength to the same extent. The most likely reason is
that the fibers are aligned in the flow direction which is
perpendicular to the direction of the shear.
Table 3.13 Shear strength of KetaSpire® PEEK

Test Method Shear Strength

The shear strength of KetaSpire® polyetheretherketone Grade MPa kpsi

(PEEK) was measured in accordance with ASTM test KT-820 NT 84 12.2
method D732. The test consists of forcing a punch KT-851 NT 92 13.3
through the specimen and monitoring the required load. KT-880 NT 95 13.8
Figure 3.26 shows a diagram of the test apparatus. KT-820 GF30 BG20 93 13.5

The test specimen used was an edge-gated injection- KT-880 GF30 BG20 94 13.7
molded plaque with dimensions of 51 x 51 x 3.2 mm KT-820 CF30 95 13.8
(2 x 2 x 0.125 in.). A hole with a diameter of 11 mm (0.43 in.) KT-880 CF30 103 15.0
was drilled in the center. The specimen was placed KT-820 SL30 70 10.2
over the 9.5 mm (3 ∕8 in.) threaded pin of the punch and KT-820 SL45 84 12.2
fastened in place with a washer and nut. The punch has
an outside diameter of 25.37 mm (0.999 in.) and the hole
in the fixture is 25.4 mm (1.000 in.).

The assembly of the specimen and the punch was

centered on the support plate and securely clamped
with four bolts to prevent any deflection or slippage

KetaSpire® PEEK Design and Processing Guide / 27