The impact of non-vacuum electron beam treatment on the structure and properties of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene

Abstract

The results of work on the impact of electron beam treatment on the structure, mechanical properties, microhardness, and thermal stability of ultra-high molecular polyethylene (PE-UHMW) are presented in this work. Electron beam processing was carried out on an industrial impulse accelerator ILU-10. The samples were irradiated with electrons with energies of 2.5 MeV, 3.5 MeV and 4.5 MeV, and the radiation dose varied from 2MGy to 9 MGy. It was determined by the method of differential scanning calorimetry that the melting temperature of the PE-UHMW polymer practically does not change for all samples, regardless of the radiation dose. After electron beam treatment, the morphology of the surfaces of the PE-UHMW polymer is significantly improved, spherulites are formed at the micro level, which indicate the displacement of polymer molecules under the influence of irradiation. It was revealed that during electron beam treatment oxidation occurs as a result of chemical reactions of the polyethylene chain with oxygen O2. Significant changes in the mechanical properties of the PE-UHMW polymer were not observed after electron beam treatment. However, a significant decrease in the elongation from 300 % to 10 % as a result of radiation aging was observed after electron beam treatment.The hardness of the PE-UHMW polymer varies slightly in the studied mode of electron beam processing.