Mechanical and tribological behaviors of UHMWPE composites filled with basalt fibers

In this article, the basalt fibers were used to fill the UHMWPE because of their outstanding mechanical and tribological performances. The UHMWPE composites with the filler content of 5—20 wt.% were prepared. Then, the mechanical and tribological performances of the composites were tested. Also, the wear mechanism was analyzed. The results indicated that the UHMWPE composites’ impact toughness was decreased when filled with the basalt fibers, but the strength, hardness, and anti-indentation creep of the UHMWPE composites were improved. Under the same experimental conditions, the friction coefficient of the UHMWPE composites filled with basalt fibers was decreased to some extent, and the wear loss of the composites was significantly reduced. The analysis showed that the wear type of the UHMWPE composites was changed when filled with the basalt fibers. So, the wear-resistant performance of the UHMWPE composites was effectively enhanced.