Nano-Wear Mechanism for Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) Sliding Against a Model Hard Asperity

This paper investigates the mechanism of wear-particle generation when a single asperity is passed over the surface of UHMWPE. A single asperity is modelled using a conical diamond-tip indenter attached to a nano-scratch tester. Scratches are produced by passing the indenter over the surface of the polymer in a single pass and multiple passes on a single track or on orthogonally intersecting tracks. The debris-generation process, as observed in the nano-scratch test, is complex and depends upon the direction of scratches. It is found that the rate of wear-debris generation is much higher when two consecutive scratches orthogonally intersect each other compared to when the scratches are made on the same track. “Wall” formation was observed between orthogonally intersecting scratches, and it is believed that this is central to the low-cycle wear mechanism in these systems.