Structure, mechanical and tribological properties of radiation cross-linked ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene and composite materials based on it

•Effect of irradiation, oriented drawing, and filling on the structure and properties of UHMWPE was studied.•Radiation cross-linking leads to an increase in the melting temperature of UHMWPE.•The optimal irradiation dose is found to be 20Mrad.•Strength of UHMWPE can be improved by a combination of irradiation, orientation, and filling with nanotubes. The effect of irradiation with electrons, oriented drawing, and reinforcement with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) on the structure, physico-mechanical and tribological properties of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is studied. It is shown that the radiation cross-linking leads to the melting temperature of UHMWPE nearly linear increases with the dose of radiation. The optimal irradiation dose with respect to the mechanical characteristics is found to be 20Mrad. It is shown that the strength characteristics of UHMWPE can be improved most efficiently by a combination of irradiation, oriented drawing, and reinforcement with nanotubes, and the second and the third factors have a stronger effect than the first one. A combined effect of three factors enabled us to enhance the yield strength of material by almost four times without a detrimental effect on its plasticity.