STRUCTURE AND MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES OF ULTRA-HIGH-MOLECULAR-WEIGHT POLYETHYLENE DEFORMED NEAR MELTING TEMPERATURE

Abstract

Some physical properties of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) were studied in regard to its molecular weight. The main samples employed in this work were three grades of commercially available UHMWPE. UHMWPE is known as a high performance linear polyethylene with excellent physical properties. Owing to its high molecular weight and the presence of entanglements of molecular chains, UHMWPE has very high melt viscosity. The object of this report is to investigate the effect of molecular weight on microstructure and mechanical properties of UHMWPE. Following items are discussed: powder properties of UHMWPE, relationship between properties and molecular weight, and drawabilities at various temperatures. The characteristic features are higher drawability of UHMWPE in the molten state and high tensile moduli of hot drawn sheets. Structure of hot drawn UHMWPE sheets was also discussed.