Relationship between Morphology and Mechanical Properties of Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene

摘要

This report describes work done durinf FY 1981 under task 80-81, NBS-FDA/BMD (Bureau of Medical Devices) Interagency Agreement. The report covers the second year of a four year project concerned with the relationship between morphology and mechanical properties of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). Various aspects of the UHMWPE being investigated include (1) the establishment of procedures for compression molding (under vacuum) sheets and cylinders of the polymer, (2) the influence of thermal history and molecular weight on the time dependent mechanical behavior such as creep and stress relaxation in both uniaxial extension and compression, (3) dynamic fatigue under conditions of zero-tension sinusoidal loading, (4) environmental stress-crack resistance, and (5) the optical and electron microscopy of sheets of the UHMWPE which have been deformed to varying degrees in uniaxial extension.