The Design and Fabrication of Dimples Pattern on the Surface of UHMWPE

Abstract

Tribological problems are the major obstacle that limits the long-term using of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) in artificial joints. Many efforts have been made to improve the tribological properties of UHMWPE mainly by promoting the structure, morphology and mechanical properties of UHMWPE. In this paper, inspired from the natural joint, the micro-scale texture has been introduced to improve the tribological properties of UHMWPE. The micro-imprint lithography technology has been adopted to fabricate the textured UHMWPE. The profile of textured UHMWPE shows that the quality of textured UHMWPE is good. The result of tribological tests shows that the micro-scaled surface texture can remarkably reduce friction on UHMWPE.