Tribological behaviour of carbon filled hybrid UHMWPE composites in water

In this study, newly developed hybrid composites with Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) as base polymer and Graphene Oxide (GO), Nano Diamonds (ND) and Short Carbon Fibers (SCF) as fillers were manufactured. The tribological performance of these composites in a water lubricated sliding contact and the effect of inclusion of the fillers on the mechanical and thermal properties of the composites were investigated. The resulting hybrid composite formed by using the fillers and the base polymer displayed low friction coefficient and high wear resistance. Compared to unfilled UHMWPE, composite with all the fillers incorporated had 21% smaller friction coefficient and 15% less wear.