Tribocorrosion behavior of CoCrMo alloy for hip prosthesis as a function of loads: A comparison between two testing systems

Metal-on-metal (MOM) hip prosthesis bearings have enjoyed renewed popularity, but concerns remain with wear debris and metal ion release causing a negative response in the surrounding tissues. Further understanding into the wear and corrosion mechanisms occurring in MOM hips is therefore essential. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the tribocorrosion behavior, or interplay between corrosion and wear, of a low-carbon CoCrMo alloy as a function of loading. The tribocorrosion tests were performed using two tribometer configurations. In the first configuration, “System A”, a linearly reciprocating alumina ball slid against the flat metal immersed in a phosphate buffer solution (PBS). In the second configuration, “System B”, the flat end of a cylindrical metal pin was pressed against an alumina ball that oscillated rotationally, using bovine calf serum (BCS) as the lubricant and electrolyte. System B was custom-built to emulate in vivo conditions. The tribocorrosion tests were performed under potentiostatic conditions at −0.345 V, with a sliding duration of 1800 s and a frequency of 1 Hz. In System A the applied loads were 0.05, 0.5, and 1 N (138, 296 and 373 MPa, respectively) and in System B were 16, 32, and 64 N (474, 597, and 752 MPa, respectively). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and polarization resistance were estimated. The total mass loss (Kwc) in the CoCrMo was determined. The mass loss due to wear (Kw) and that due to corrosion (Kc) were determined. The dominant wear regime for the CoCrMo alloy subjected to sliding changes from wear–corrosion to mechanical wear as the contact stress increases. An attempt was made to compare both system, in their tribochemical responses and formulate some insights in the total degradation processes. Our results also suggest that the proteins in the serum lubricant assist in the generation of a protective layer against corrosion during sliding. The study highlights the need of adequate methodology/guidelines to compare the results from different test systems and translating in solving the practical problems

Improved wear performance of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene coated with hydrogenated diamond like carbon

Hydrogenated diamond like carbon (DLCH) thin films were deposited on medical grade ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) by radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The DLCH coating thicknesses ranged from 250 to 700. nm. The substrates were disks made of UHMWPEs typically used for soft components in artificial joints, namely virgin GUR 1050 and highly crosslinked (gamma irradiated in air to 100. kGy) UHMWPEs. Mechanical and tribological properties under bovine serum lubrication at body temperature were assessed on coated and uncoated polyethylenes by means of nano-hardness and ball-on-disk tests, respectively. Morphological features of the worn surfaces were obtained by confocal microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. This study confirms an increase in surface hardness and good wear resistance for coated materials after 24. h of sliding test compared to uncoated polyethylene. These results point out that to coat UHMWPE with DLCH films could be a potential method to reduce backside wear in total hip and knee arthroplasties.Ministerio de Ciencia y Educación MAT2006-12603- C02-01, CSD2008-0002

Wear of composite ceramics in mixed-material combinations in total hip replacement under adverse edge loading conditions

Further development of ceramic materials for total hip replacement aim to increase fracture toughness and further reduce the incidence of bearing fracture. Edge loading due to translational mal positioning (microseparation) has replicated stripe wear, wear rates, and bimodal wear debris observed on retrievals. This method has replicated the fracture of early zirconia ceramic-on-ceramic bearings. This has shown the necessity of introducing microseparation conditions to the gait cycle when assessing the tribological performance of new hip replacement bearings. Two novel ceramic matrix composite materials, zirconia-toughened alumina (ZTA) and alumina-toughened zirconia (ATZ), were developed by Mathys Orthop€adie GmbH. In this study, ATZon- ATZ and ZTA-on-ZTA bearing combinations were tested and compared with alumina-on-alumina (Al2O3-on-Al2O3) bearings under adverse microseparation and edge loading conditions using the Leeds II physiological anatomical hip joint simulator. The wear rate (695% confidence limit) of ZTA-on-ZTA was 0.1460.10 mm3/million cycles and that of ATZ-on-ATZ was 0.0660.004 mm3/million cycles compared with a wear rate of 0.7461.73 mm3/million cycles for Al2O3- on-Al2O3 bearings. Stripe wear was evident on all bearing combinations; however, the stripe formed on the ATZ and ZTA femoral heads was thinner and shallower that that formed on the Al2O3 heads. Posttest phase composition measurements for both ATZ and ZTA materials showed no significant change in the monoclinic zirconia content. ATZon- ATZ and ZTA-on-ZTA showed superior wear resistance properties when compared with Al2O3-on-Al2O3 under adverse edge loading conditions. VC 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 00B: 000–000, 2013

Dynamic modeling and analysis of wear in spatial hard-on-hard couple hip replacements using multibody systems methodologies

Wear plays a key role in primary failure of artificial hip articulations. Thus, the main goal of this work is to investigate the influence of friction-induced vibration on the predicted wear of hard hip arthroplasties. This desideratum is reached by developing a three-dimensional multibody dynamic model for a hip prosthesis taking the spatial nature of the physiological loading and motion of the human body into account. The calculation of the intra-joint contact forces developed is based on a continuous contact force approach that accounts for the geometrical and materials properties of the contacting surfaces. In addition, the friction effects due to the contact between hip components are also taken into account. The vibration of the femoral head inside the cup associated with stick-slip friction, negative-sloping friction and dynamic variation in intra-joint contact force has been also incorporated in the present hip articulation model. The friction-induced vibration increases the sliding distance of the contact point between the head and cup surfaces by altering its micro and macro trajectories, and consequently affects the wear. In the present work, the Archard’s wear law is considered and embedded in the dynamic hip multibody model, which allows for the prediction of the wear developed in the hip joint. With the purpose of having more realistic wear simulation conditions, the geometries of the acetabular cup and femoral head are updated throughout the dynamic analysis. The main results obtained from computational simulations for ceramic-on-ceramic and metal-on-metal hip prostheses are compared and validated with those available in the best-published literature. Finally, from the study performed in the present work, it can be concluded that that an important source of the high wear rates observed clinically may be due to friction-induced vibration.The first author gratefully acknowledges Macquarie University for his International Macquarie University Research Excellence Scholarship (iMQRES)-No. 2010017. The second author would like to thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the project UID/EEA/04436/2013

Understanding the dual mobility concept for total hip arthroplasty. Investigations on a multiscale analysis-highlighting the role of arthrofibrosis

International audienceIn hip implants, UHMWPE (ultra high molecular weight polyethylene) liner wear is believed to be a key issue affecting the lifetime of the artificial joint. Dual mobility, a THA (total hip arthroplasty) concept where the liner moves inside the metallic shell, has become popular due to its low dislocation rate. To understand the tribological behavior of this particular implant, especially the role of the second mobility, 12 representative explants were selected from a bank of 250 explants. The implants used were Profil® femoral stem and Novae® metallic shell. The external surface, involved in the second mobility, was examined by 3D profilometry, SEM (scanning electron microscopy) and CMM (coordinate measuring machine). This study highlights a correlation between roughness and CMM evolutions and surgical parameters. A particular wear zone and a wear scenario were identified and validated according to the type of metal-back. A metal transfer between the metal back and the liner was isolated. CMM allowed to measure second mobility wear volume at a macroscopic scale. Thus a realistic wear mechanism has been suggested for this specific implant

A review of squeaking in ceramic total hip prostheses

The occurrence of audible squeaking in some patients with ceramic-on-ceramic (CoC) hip prostheses is a cause for concern. Considering multifactor contributing to this phenomenon, many studies have been conducted over the last decade. Great efforts have been put on understanding the mechanics of the hip squeaking to gain a deep insight into factors resulting in sound emission from hip articulation. Disruption of fluid-film lubrication and friction were reported as main potential causes of hip squeaking, while patient and surgical factors as well as design and material of hip implants were identified as affecting factors. This review article therefore summarised the recent available literature on this subject to provide a platform for future developments. Moreover, high wear rates and ceramic liner fracture as viable consequences of hip squeaking were discussed.The first author gratefully acknowledges Macquarie University for International Macquarie University Research Excellence Scholarship (iMQRES)-No. 2010017. The second author would like to thank to the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology through the project UID/EEA/04436/2013

Sliding friction and wear performance of the nano-bioceramic α -Al 2 O 3 prepared by high energy milling

The structural evolution and morphological changes of the nanostructured α-Al2O3 powder using different milling times (1, 8, 16 and 24 h) were studied. It is observed that the crystallite size of the particles reduced to 2 nm after milling for 24 h. Morphological studies of powder particles indicated that the powder particle size continuously decreases with increasing milling time. The sliding wear rate and wear coefficient of friction were lower in the nanocrystalline samples milled at 24 h at same applied load (3, 6 or 10 N). The improved friction and wear resistance is attributed to the finer microstructure of the sample milled for 24 h

Design, development and applications of hip joint simulators.

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN029266 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo