Commodity Plastics
UHMWPE Bearing Grade — Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene Bearing Grade
UHMWPE offers outstanding abrasion resistance, high impact strength, and a very low coefficient of friction, surpassing most other plastics. It is ideal for wear strips, bearings, and components subjected to severe sliding or impact conditions.
UHMWPEGURTivar
Manufacturers
3
Grades
3
Applications
4
Equivalents
2
Physical Properties
- Density
- 0.930-0.945 g/cm³
- Water Absorption (24h)
- <0.01 %
- Transparency
- Opaque
- Shrinkage
- 1-3 %
Mechanical Properties
- Young's Modulus
- 0.5-1.0 GPa
- Tensile Strength
- 30-50 MPa
- Elongation at Break
- 100-300 %
- Impact Strength (Izod)
- No Break
Thermal Properties
- Glass Transition Temperature
- -120 °C
- Melting Point
- 130-140 °C
- Continuous Service Temperature
- 80-100 °C
- Heat Deflection Temperature
- 40-50 °C
Electrical Properties
- Dielectric Constant
- 2.25-2.35
- Volume Resistivity
- >10¹⁵ Ω⋅cm
- Dielectric Strength
- 15-25 kV/mm
Chemical Resistance
- Acids
- Excellent resistance
- Bases
- Excellent resistance
- Solvents
- Good resistance at room temperature, swells in hot aromatic hydrocarbons
- UV Resistance
- Poor (requires stabilization)
Sustainability
- Recyclability
- Recyclable (challenging due to high viscosity)
- Recycling Code
- 2 (PE-HD)
- Carbon Footprint
- Moderate
Manufacturing compatibility
Compression moldingRam extrusionMachining
Applications
Wear strips
Bearings
Chute liners
Cutting boards
Available grades
GUR 4040Tivar 88PE 1000