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Keywords

UHMWPE, nHA, Nanocomposite, Mechanical Properties, RVE-FEA

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Recently the polymer nanocomposites have shown significant development, enabling substantial improvements in the performance of conventional polymers that reflect large influences on the products and industry. Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is widely employed in biomedical and structural applications, their mechanical properties can be tailored through the incorporation of nanoscale fillers. In this study, nano-hydroxyapatite (nHA) particles were incorporated into UHMWPE at reinforcement loadings of 0.5, 1.0, 3.0, and 5.0% content experimentally, and different volume fraction numerically to evaluate their effect on the material's mechanical behavior. A Representative Volume Element (RVE) based on finite element analysis (FEA) was developed to predict the mechanical properties of the nanocomposites using an equivalent homogeneous material approach. The produced UHMWPE/nHA nanocomposites were experimentally characterized in terms of mechanical properties to examine the effect of nHA content, allowing direct comparison to the numerical data. The resulting experimental data revealed the improvements of tensile strength (6.0%), flexural strength (6.4 wt.%), flexural modulus (4.9 wt.%) and hardness (11.3%) at 1.0 wt.% nHA. However, higher nHA contents decreased elongation due to agglomeration, making 1.0 wt.% the best composition. Similarly, an increment in the Young and shear moduli from the numerical outcomes affirms the reinforcing capability of the nHA nanofiller within the UHMWPE systems. A good agreement between the experimental and RVE results highlights the potential of RVE-FEA route in signifying the stiffening influence of nHA at low nanofiller levels. Collectively, this combined experimental-numerical approach guides the design of UHMWPE/nHA system for biomedical applications, including orthopedic implants.

DOI

10.30684/2412-0758.1564

First Page

169

Last Page

183

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