Sintering of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene

[摘要] Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is a high performance polymer having low coefficient of friction, good abrasion resistance, good chemical resistance etc. It is used in shipbuilding, textile industries and also in biomedical applications. UHMWPE is processed by powder processing technique because of its high melt viscosity at the processing temperature. Powder processing technique involves compaction of polymeric powder under pressure and sintering of the preforms at temperature above its melting point. In this study, we report our results on compaction and sintering behaviour of two grades of UHMWPE with reference to the powder morphology, sintering temperatures and strength development.

[学科分类] 材料工程

[关键词] UHMWPE;powder compaction;sintering;coalescence;strength development.