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Relationships between Vickers microhardness, x‐ray and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) crystallinity, x‐ray long period, and melting points were determined for ultrahigh molecular‐weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) of various histories (as‐produced, irradiated, annealed, and remelted). It was shown that the microhardness responds very sensitively to both the irradiation conditions (total radiation dose, radiation dose rate) and the thermal treatment (annealing below the melting temperature, remelting). As microhardness reflects the yield point parameters, the results show that not only the total dose, but also the irradiation dose rate has a considerable influence on mechanical properties of UHMWPE. It was demonstrated that neither x‐ray nor DSC results are so sensitive to treatment as the microhardness results. The most important differences in properties were found between remelted samples and those thermally untreated or annealed.
Acknowledgment
Financial support through grants 106/04/1118 (Grant Agency of the Czech Republic) and MSMT 2B06096 (Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports of the Czech Republic) is gratefully acknowledged.