Structure and tribomechanical properties of multicomponent extrudable “UHMWPE-HDPE-g-SMA-PP” composites fabricated by fused deposition modeling

A comparative analysis on the structure, mechanical and tribological properties of multicomponent polymer composites “UHMWPE + 17 wt % HDPE-g-SMA + 12 wt % PP” fabricated by fused deposition modeling (layer-by-layer extrusion printing) and hot pressing (compression sintering) was carried out. It is shown that extrudable UHMWPE based composites fabricated by 3D-printing over the set of key tribomechanical properties (wear resistance, friction coefficient, elastic modulus, yield point, tensile strength, elongation at break) exceeds those of the composites obtained by compression sintering (CS). The reason of the latter is associated with the formation of a more uniform ordered permolecular structure with increased degree of crystallinity. Multicomponent antifriction nanocomposites with the extrudable polymer-polymer matrix (filled with hydroxyapatite and carbon fibers) were fabricated and investigated. The results obtained make it possible to recommend the multicomponent UHMWPE-based nanocomposites for manufacturing complex shape products for tribotechnical applications by means of 3D-printing.