Tribological and mechanical behaviors of mollusk shell‐ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene bio‐composite

Abstract This work is focused on the study of the tribological and mechanical properties of mollusk shell (MS)‐ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) biocomposite against stainless steel. Wear tests were carried out on a reciprocating pin on disc apparatus. Tensile tests were achieved using a computerized universal traction machine, model EZ‐20 LLOYD. Rockwell hardness of the bio‐reinforced composite was carried out using an AFFRI universal hardness test. The coefficient of friction and wear rate were measured after tribological tests. From tensile tests, the ultimate strength, Young's modulus, fracture strain, and fracture strength were determined. It is found that wear tests of MS‐UHMWPE biocomposites achieved high tribological performance in terms of specific wear rate and coefficient of friction compared to pure UHMWPE. The mechanical properties of UHMWPE were enhanced by the addition of MS particles. The correlation between the mechanical and tribological properties of MS‐UHMWPE biocomposites was investigated. It is established that there is no solid confirmation of a strong correlation between the mechanical properties and the specific wear rate of MS‐UHMWPE biocomposites. However, the coefficient of friction gives a reasonable correlation with the hardness, fracture strain, fracture strength, and Young's modulus of the MS‐UHMWPE.