Reciprocating sliding of uniaxially-stretched ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene for medical device applications

Solid-state deformation of UHMWPE used in total joint prosthesis could be a relevant treatment prior to cross-linking to obtain high strength. However, little is known about the influence of chain alignment (texture) on sliding wear behavior. In this work, we analyzed i) the deformation mechanisms of UHMWPE resulting from a uniaxial tension (elongation of about 300%) and ii) the influence of the texture on the friction behavior resulting from ball-on-flat sliding tests (reciprocating sliding mode). Microstructural investigations show that tension induces a transformation of the initial lamellar morphology into specific microfibrillar morphology. White light interferometer (WLI) studies show that texturing causes an increase of the roughness by a factor of about two. After 50,000 sliding cycles, the cumulative dissipated energy decreases from 109,300–103,600 μJ for untreated UHMWPE to 64,600 and 43,150 μJ for textured UHMWPE, parallel and perpendicular to the texture direction, respectively. Considering that wear resistance increases with decreasing dissipated energy, textured UHMWPE may have anti-wear properties. However, cracks are noted at microscopic scale for textured UHMWPE. Regarding wear resistance, such defects are not suitable and can be avoided by reducing the roughness of textured UHMWPE prior to wear tests.