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Viscoelastic Behaviors of Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene under Three-Point Bending and Indentation Loading

¹ Department of Chemistry, Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA
² Rutgers University

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: mdeng{at}its.jnj.com.

	Abstract

Dynamic mechanical properties under three-point bending and deformation behavior under indentation loading of an ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) were investigated in this study. Dependence of its viscoelastic properties on temperature, frequency, load level, specimen geometry and heating rates were examined. The results showed that temperature and frequency had significant effects on the response of UHMWPE to the dynamic load. With the increase in temperature, the storage modulus (E') was decreased and the loss angle (tan ) was increased, indicating an increase in the trend in viscoelastic response of the polymer at high temperature. On the other hand, when frequency was increased, higher E' and lower tan were observed, suggesting that the material behaved more elastically. While the two heating rates of 5°C/min and 10°C/min had little effect on E' and tan , the load level significantly influenced the dynamic mechanical properties of the polymer. UHMWPE showed quite different responses at 0.5 and 20 Hz than at 1–10 Hz, which is worth further investigation. The results from indentation experiment showed that temperature, specimen geometry and load level had significant effects on the response of UHMWPE to the indentation load. With the increase in temperature, the penetration depth was increased, indicating an increase in the deformation trend in the polymer at high temperature. High load led to high penetration. The time-temperature superposition (TTS) method could be used to predict the long-term penetration behaviors of the polymer. From TTS analysis, the activation energy associated with penetration deformation was obtained. Further analysis showed that it might be possible to increase the resistance of UHMEPE to indentation deformation by increasing the thickness and/or decreasing the diameter of the polymer samples.

First published on May 26, 2009
Journal of Biomaterials Applications 2009, doi:10.1177/0885328209102750


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