A study on wear behavior of γ-UHMWPE sliding against 316L stainless steel counter face

• In this paper the wear behavior of crosslinked UHMWPE sliding against UHMWPE and 316L stainless steel counter surfaces was discussed.
• The influence of melt temperature on hardness, friction resistance and wear resistance was also discussed.
• The predominant wear mechanisms corresponding to melt temperature and different sliding parameters were discussed.
• The UHMWPE specimens sliding against stainless steel performed better wear resistance and frictional resistance when compared with UHMWPE counter surface.

The main cause of long term failure of total joint replacements is due to generation of wear particles in ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE). In this study UHMWPE specimens were prepared in injection molding machine by varying the melt temperature. Then they were irradiated and subjected to wear tests in a hip joint simulator. The tests were conducted by varying the contact loads where the specimens were slid against 316L stainless steel and UHMWPE counter faces. The study revealed that the specimens sliding against stainless steel counter face have better wear resistance than when sliding against UHMWPE counter face.