As we all know, UHMW-PE has many excellent properties as engineering plastics, such as excellent wear resistance, impact resistance, and chemical resistance. Even at low temperatures, it still has good mechanical properties and self-lubricating properties.
But in real life, plastic as we know it is not as strong as steel. So some people ask how good the wear resistance of UHMW is. How good is the impact resistance of UHMW-PE?

How good is the wear resistance of UHMW-PE?

The abrasion resistance of UHMW-PE is higher than that of all kinds of pure plastics, and it increases with the increase of molecular weight; when UHMWPE is paired with steel and copper, it is easy to produce adhesive wear, and the wear on mating parts is negligible. The service life is higher than steel’s, and the wear resistance is 3 to 7 times that of carbon steel and stainless steel. The following form will show the detailed data.

Wear resistance of materials
Name of material	UHMW-PE	PA66	PTHE	45# Carbon steel	Stainless steel
Average wear rate	062	1.51	2.31	4.02	4.02
Friction coefficient	0.07-0.11	0.37	0.30-0.45	0.38	0.36

 

The friction coefficient of raw coal for the following materials：

UHMW-PE	Cement board	Steel plate	Cast stone slab
0.10-0.20	0.60-0.70	0.45-0.58	0.30-0.45

It can be seen from this table that the use of the UHMW-PE board as lining on the inner wall of the coal bunker can increase the service life of the coal bunker, and the UHMW-PE board is easy to load and unload and can be used normally for 10 years after installation. It also aims to completely solve the problems of bonding, bridging, and blanking of materials in the process of feeding materials in the warehouse. It can improve the utilization rate of the silo by 62%.

How good is the impact resistance of UHMW-PE?

UHMWPE is one of the most impact-resistant plastic varieties. Its impact strength at room temperature is comparable to that of Polycarbonate PC, and its low-temperature impact strength is even better than that of Polycarbonate PC; its impact resistance is 8 times that of ABS and 10 times that of PA66,22 times of POM, 25 times of PBT!

Impact resistance of materials
Name of material	UHMW-PE	PA66	PTHE	45# Carbon steel	Stainless steel
Impact strength KJ/cm2	140	6-11	1.6-15	16-44	300-400

Looking at the above data, have you thought that UHMWPE can be applied to many fields? In addition to being used in coal bunker lining, this product is also used as a lining plate in various silos, funnels, and chutes in thermal power plants, steel mills, sintering plants, coking plants, and other industries. It is a good liner material.

In conclusion:

UHMWPE is a near-perfect engineering plastic with excellent properties. UHMWPE is a perfect choice if you are looking for this kind of plastic accessory for your equipment or if you want to replace iron with a lightweight and strong plastic. If you know more about the introduction and application of UHMWPE, please take a look at our blog posts “What is UHMW PE plastic and what is it used for?” and “What properties does UHMW PE plastic have ?”