Effect of HA content on mechanical properties of hot drawn HA/UHMWPE nanocomposites for bone substitutes

Hydroxyapatite reinforced ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (HA/UHMWPE) nanocomposites with HA volume fraction 0.1-0.5 are processed by twin-screw extrusion compounding and compression molding followed by hot drawing. SEM micrographs show that HA nano-particles are homogeneously dispersed in the highly oriented UHMWPE inter-fibrils. Tensile tests show that the modulus increases, while the strength and ductility decrease, with the increase of HA content. A good combination of mechanical properties can be obtained in the composite with HA nano-particles volume fraction 0.3