Tribological Behavior of UHMWPE (Disc) against Ti6Al4V (Pin) under Different Lubrication Conditions

The proposed research work is addressed to the study of the wear behavior of Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) under the contact with a rounded pin in Ti6Al4V alloy, which is largely used for production of the last generation of prosthetic implants by electron beam manufacturing (EBM). The wear tests of UHMWPE in contact with a Ti6Al4V pin are carried out dry or in the presence of lubricants fluids that are characterized by tribological tests, wet-ability measurements, and morphological observations of the contact surfaces. UHMWPE wear resistance improves in conditions of lubrication in the order: dry < distilled water < synthetic synovial < bovine serum, according to wettability results. As suggested by the track profiles, the contact action in dry can be mainly due to shear stress while that in lubricant mainly to compressive stress.