No.1（2006）15.Tribological Behavior of High Energy Ion-irradiated Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene

Shohei Taniguchi, Masayuki Sekiguchi, Yasuhito Kinjo, Noriyuki Miyazaki

In order to improve the tribological property of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), the UHMWPE substrates were irradiated with Si ions. The beam energies were 1.5 and 3.0 MeV at a fluence range of 0.5×10¹⁴-1×10¹⁵ions/cm². The friction coefficient and wear resistance of the UHMWPE substrates were measured using ball-on-disk wear testing. The ion-irradiated substrates were analyzed using secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS)and Raman spectroscopy. It was found that the friction coefficient of ion-irradiated substrates at a fluence of 5×10¹⁴ or 1×10¹⁵ ions/cm² was lower than that of un-irradiated substrate. Furthermore, the wear resistance was improved at a fluence of 1×10¹⁵ions/cm². The hardness of the irradiated substrates increased with an increase of ion fluence. analysis by SIMS and Raman spectroscopy suggested that an amorphous carbon was formed in the surface layer by ion-irradiation.

Keywords

UHMWPE, ion irradiation, tribology, hardness, diamond like carbon

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