Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) was initially polymerized in the 1950s. Eventually the first UHMWPE fibers got commercialised in the late 1970s. The long chains of polyethylene (consisting of high level of crystallinity) enable load transfer by strengthening intermolecular interactions.
Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) is a tremendously tough plastic material that is wear resistance and highly abrasive in nature. Commercially UHMWPE is widely used in a varied range of industrial applications that require durability, low friction, and chemical resistance. A few major advantages of UHMWPE that make it a popular material are:
- Stress and crack resistant
- Abrasion wear resistant
- Strong chemical resistant
- Self-lubricating
- Non-staining
- FDA approved
- Low specific gravity
