Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene has the following property characteristics: excellent abrasion resistance, good low-temperature impact resistance, self-lubrication, non-toxicity, water resistance and chemical resistance, with heat resistance superior to ordinary PE. UHMWPE has poor flowability and extremely high viscosity in the molten state, forming a rubber-like highly viscous elastic body; in the early days it could only be formed by compression and sintering, and today it can also be processed by extrusion, injection molding and blow molding.
Special functions: the mechanical properties of UHMWPE are higher than those of ordinary high-density polyethylene. It offers outstanding impact resistance, stress-crack resistance, high-temperature creep resistance, a low coefficient of friction, self-lubrication, excellent chemical corrosion resistance, fatigue resistance, noise damping and nuclear radiation resistance.
Application areas: UHMWPE can replace materials such as carbon steel, stainless steel and bronze in the textile, papermaking, food machinery, transportation, medical, coal mining and chemical industries. In the textile industry it is used for shuttle drivers, shuttle picking sticks, gears and other impact- and wear-resistant parts. In the papermaking industry it is used for chest cover boards, doctor blades and filters; in the transportation industry it is used for the linings of hoppers, silos and chutes for powdered materials.
UHMWPE can be made into parts for various machines, including gears, worm gears, worms and bearings for food machinery. In the chemical industry it is used for pumps, valves, baffles and filter plates. In medicine it can also be used for heart valves, orthopedic parts, artificial joints and contraceptive implants. In sports it is used for skating rink floors, bowling lanes, skis and snowmobile parts. UHMWPE can be made into high-modulus fiber for manufacturing ballistic vests, aircraft seats, and marine and fishing ropes.
Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene has many excellent properties, yet this outstanding engineering plastic is little known. This is mainly because research into the melt characteristics of UHMWPE was previously insufficient, and processing methods were essentially still limited to the outdated compression–sintering process. In recent years, with the continuous development of UHMWPE processing technology, its products have been successfully applied in many fields.