Effect of an edge at cup rim on contact stress during micro-separation in ceramic-on-ceramic hip joints.pdfVIP

Tribology International (xxxx) xxxx–xxxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Tribology International journal homepage: /locate/triboint E?ect of an edge at cup rim on contact stress during micro-separation in ceramic-on-ceramic hip joints Feng Liua,?, John Fisherb a School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, North University of China, PR China b Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds,UK ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Ceramic-on-ceramic Hip joint replacement Edge contact Micro-separation Finite element ABSTRACT Alumina ceramic total hip joint bearings have shown superior wear properties. The joint bearing may undergo adverse conditions such as micro-separation causing head contact on the cup rim. As a transition, an edge is formed between the cup bearing and the rim. The aim of this study was to predict the e?ect of the edge on contact stresses in order to better understand the mechanisms of wear. A ?nite element contact model was developed under the conditions of the head displacements 0.5–2 mm and vertical loads 0.5–3 kN. The edge contact produced the most severe stresses capable of causing elevated wear and damage to ceramic bearings. The study shows that the bearing design should be considered in association with clinical conditions to eliminate severe stress. 1. Introduction Hip joint replacements are an e?ective surgical procedure to treat patients with joint diseases such as osteoarthritis [1]. However, excessive wear particles resulting from the joint bearing contact may cause in?ammatory responses and consequently implant failure, and remains a limiting factor for hip prostheses to achieve long-term performance [2,3]. In terms of the bearing materials, ceramic-onceramic (CoC) bearing couples exhibit superior wear properties when compared to metal-on-metal (MoM) or metal-on-polyethylene (MoP) combinations [4–10]. In addition, ceramic wear debris has shown to be less biologically active [11–13]. The