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Structure, processing and performance of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (IUPAC Technical Report). Part 3: deformation, wear and fracture

Bucknall, Clive; Altstädt, Volker; Auhl, Dietmar; Buckley, Paul; Dijkstra, Dirk; Galeski, Andrzej; Gögelein, Christoph; Handge, Ulrich A.; He, Jiasong; Liu, Chen-Yang; Michler, Goerg; Piorkowska, Ewa; Slouf, Miroslav; Vittorias, Iakovos; Wu, Jun Jie

Structure, processing and performance of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (IUPAC Technical Report). Part 3: deformation, wear and fracture Thumbnail


Authors

Clive Bucknall

Volker Altstädt

Dietmar Auhl

Paul Buckley

Dirk Dijkstra

Andrzej Galeski

Christoph Gögelein

Ulrich A. Handge

Jiasong He

Chen-Yang Liu

Goerg Michler

Ewa Piorkowska

Miroslav Slouf

Iakovos Vittorias



Abstract

Three grades of polyethylene, with weight-average relative molar masses, ¯¯¯¯ M W , of approximately 0.6 × 106, 5 × 106, and 9 × 106, were supplied as compression mouldings by a leading manufacturer of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). They were code-named PE06, PE5, and PE9, respectively. Specimens cut from these mouldings were subjected to a wide range of mechanical tests at 23 °C. In tensile tests, deformation was initially elastic and dominated by crystallinity, which was highest in PE06. Beyond the yield point, entanglement density became the dominant factor, and at 40 % strain, the rising stress–strain curves for PE5 and PE9 crossed the falling PE06 curve. Fracture occurred at strains above 150 %. Differences in stress–strain behaviour between PE5 and PE9 were relatively small. A similar pattern of behaviour was observed in wear tests; wear resistance showed a marked increase when ¯¯¯¯ M W was raised from 0.6 × 106 to 5 × 106, but there was no further increase when it was raised to 9 × 106. It is concluded that the unexpected similarity in behaviour between PE5 and PE9 was due to incomplete consolidation during moulding, which led to deficiencies in entanglement at grain boundaries; they were clearly visible on the surfaces of both tensile and wear specimens. Fatigue crack growth in 10 mm thick specimens was so severely affected by inadequate consolidation that it forms the basis for a separate report – Part 4 in this series.

Citation

Bucknall, C., Altstädt, V., Auhl, D., Buckley, P., Dijkstra, D., Galeski, A., …Wu, J. J. (2020). Structure, processing and performance of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (IUPAC Technical Report). Part 3: deformation, wear and fracture. Pure and Applied Chemistry, 92(9), 1503-1519. https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2019-0406

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 23, 2020
Online Publication Date Aug 25, 2020
Publication Date 2020
Deposit Date Dec 9, 2020
Publicly Available Date Dec 9, 2020
Journal Pure and Applied Chemistry
Print ISSN 0033-4545
Electronic ISSN 0033-4545
Publisher International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 92
Issue 9
Pages 1503-1519
DOI https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2019-0406

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