Recent developments in the tribology of artificial joints

A history of the tribological development of artificial joints compares how these are lubricated with the mechanisms involved in human joints. It is concluded that while healthy human joints are lubricated by fluid film action, all current artificial joints at best are lubricated by mixed lubrication and hence wear is taking place throughout the life of the prosthesis. A new concept in artificial joints is described. Soft elastic layers simulate articular cartilage and if selected carefully can develop full fluid film lubrication with consequential low friction and minimal wear.     

Transient elastohydrodynamic lubrication in artificial knee joint with non-Newtonian fluids

This paper presents the transient analysis of a human artificial knee joint under elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) for point contact with non-Newtonian lubricants. The artificial knee joints use ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) against metal with time-varying speed and load during walking. This numerical simulation employed a perturbation method, Newton Raphson method and multigrid method with full approximation technique to solve simultaneously both the time-dependent Reynolds equation, with non-Newtonian fluid based on a Carreau model, and the elasticity equation.The general numerical schemes are implemented to investigate the characteristics of elastohydrodynamic lubrication in human artificial knee joints; profiles of pressure and film thickness are determined, with varying material and lubricant properties, applied loads and speeds. The results show that the elastohydrodynamic fluid film thickness between the metallic component of the artificial knee joint and the soft polyethylene bearing becomes larger as the contact area increases and the fluid film pressure decreases. At the beginning of the first walking cycle, the film thickness is lower than in subsequent cycles because of the time required to develop the fluid film; after the first cycle, the fluid film is similar for every cycle and is dependent on transient applied load and speed during human movement.     

On the shear stress of elastohydrodynamic lubrication in elliptical contacts

Results of mathematical modelling of elastohydrodynamic lubrication of rolling contacts are presented. Effects of dimensionless parameters such as speed, normal load, elliptical parameters and coefficient of limiting shear stress on shear stress distributions have been studied. Moreover, profiles on hydrodynamic pressure and film thickness in EHD contacts have been studied. It has been found that shear stress profiles on two contact surfaces in entraining direction are similar with each other in some way. Shear stresses of fluid film on contact surfaces vary with many factors, which reveals the mechanism of traction in elastohydrodynamically lubricated contacts.     

Determination of contact area in 'cushion form' bearings for artificial hip joints

Current forms of artificial hip joints produce wear debris, which contributes to loosening of the prostheses. These 'hard' joints articulate with boundary or mixed lubrication, whereas the natural joint articulates with full fluid film lubrication. An artificial joint that articulates with full fluid film lubrication could greatly reduce wear and frictional torque and hence reduce the incidence of loosening and inflammatory tissue reaction. The use of a thin lining of low elastic modulus in the acetabular cup is one possible way of promoting full fluid film lubrication. In the design of such cushion forms of bearings, it is important to be able to predict the contact area, stress distribution and film thickness. This paper presents experimental techniques to determine the contact area in low elastic modulus layers and compares these measured areas with theoretical predictions using linear elasticity theory. At low loads experimental results and theoretical predictions were close. However, at loads above 300 N, the theory overestimated the width of the contact area by up to 8.5 per cent. This difference is mainly attributed to the non-linear behaviour of the elastomer at the higher levels of stress.     

Calculation of Stribeck curves for (water) lubricated journal bearings

This paper describes a mixed elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) model for finite length elastic journal bearings. The finite element method was employed to discretise the coupled system of 2D–3D Reynolds-structure equations and to compute Stribeck curves at constant load. As underrelaxation strategies have been found to be insufficient for an iterative solution of this problem, artificial dynamics have been added to the numerical structure equations in order to solve for stationary solutions of the fluid–structure problem. An ideal plastic asperity contact model together with an effective film thickness formulation according to Chengwei and Linqing was employed in order to compute the contact pressure in mixed lubrication. The method presented in this paper is applied to a typical water lubricated journal bearing problem. Computed Stribeck curves are presented and the numerical performance of the method is evaluated.     

Calculation of oil‐film thickness in journal bearings running at varying rotational speeds

There are many methods of calculating the properties of lubricated hydrodynamic sliding bearings running at variable loads, but, in some cases, sliding bearings of heavy‐duty machines run under constant load and at variable speeds; this can lead to reduced film thickness in the bearing and boundary lubrication. The minimum oilfilm thickness in such a bearing needs to be calculated so that the proper lubricant viscosity can be selected to reduce solid‐solid contact during machine operation. In this study, a method is presented for calculating the film thickness of sliding bearings operating with alternating rotational directions. The results of the calculations show that the squeeze effect can develop enough load‐carrying capacity to prevent solid‐solid contact between the rubbing surfaces during operation, provided the change of direction of rotation is quick enough.     

乏油条件下乳化液润滑复合塑料轴承等温弹流润滑分析

塑料轴承是常用的水润滑轴承,而乳化液由于无污染、来源广、节省能源、安全性等特点成为一种具有良好应用前景的润滑剂.以乳化液润滑复合塑料轴承为研究对象,建立塑料轴承弹流润滑模型,分析乏油条件下转速和载荷对润滑膜膜厚的影响,并与充分供油条件下的润滑膜膜厚进行比较.结果表明:随着供油量的增加,轴承油膜膜厚增加,但当供油量超过一临界值时,油膜膜厚不再变化.在乳化液润滑条件下,膜厚及最小膜厚均随转速的增大而明显增大,随载荷增大而减小,且供油条件没有造成明显的影响.     

轴瓦的力学性能对水润滑塑料轴承润滑性能的影响

在线接触热弹流润滑的基础上,对水润滑塑料轴承的热弹流模型进行计算,研究轴瓦的力学性能对水润滑塑料轴承润滑性能的影响,分析不同弹性模量下的压力、膜厚、最高温升曲线和温度分布。结果表明:在载荷等满足要求时,应选择弹性模量小的材料;载荷很大时,应选择弹性模量大的材料;弹性模量很大的材料,材料改性重点是增加自润滑性能和增加热传导系数。     

Design considerations for cushion form bearings in artificial hip joints.

Lubrication mechanisms and contact mechanics have been analysed in a new generation of 'cushion form' bearings for artificial hip joints, which comprise low elastic modulus layers on the articulating surfaces. Comparisons have been made with 'hard' bearings used in existing prostheses and also with the natural hip joint. Lubricating film thicknesses are enhanced by larger contact areas and lower contact pressures. For a fixed contact area, simultaneous changes in layer thickness and radial clearance have been shown to have a small effect on elastohydrodynamic film thickness. Hard bearings designed with the same contact area as the cushion bearings produced a similar film thickness, but lubricant film thickness is not optimized in current designs. The main advantage of using a cushion bearing with low elastic modulus layers was found to be associated with microelastohydrodynamic lubrication. Careful selection of the elastic modulus is important in order to ensure that this lubrication regime was effective. Low elastic modulus layers may also produce local deformations, which enhance squeeze film action. The elastic modulus of the material should not be lower than necessary to produce effective microelastohydrodynamic lubrication, as a further reduction in modulus only increases the strain distribution in the material. A lubricant film thickness of 0.3 microns has been predicted for a cushion hip prosthesis with a femoral head diameter of 32 mm and radius of contact zone of 16 mm, using a 2 mm thick layer with an elastic modulus of 20 MPa.     

Analysis of fluid film formation between contacting compliant solids

Industrial compliant surface bearings and dynamic seals sometimes suffer severe damage during start up after long rest, and a similar problem is predicted for joint prostheses with compliant artificial articular cartilage. In this study, fluid film developing between compliant solids by sliding is analyzed numerically using a modified elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication theory which permits direct contact and cavitation. The result shows that the forefront of the fluid film moves in the same direction with sliding while direct contact remains until the fluid film takes the place of the entire contacting region. With an increase of compliance and the Stribeck number, the velocity of fluid film formation increases and approaches half of the sliding speed but never exceeds it. In other words, the minimum sliding distance for non-contacting condition is twice the initial contact width. Therefore, when a heavy load is applied to compliant surface bearings, the contact width will be large and the unlubricated region will remain long. Since a compliant material is not as strong as hard materials, it may be damaged during start up after a long rest. As the study has thus clarified the mechanism of damage which compliant surfaces experience during start up, effective methods to protect surfaces from damage will be found according to the theoretical backgrounds.     

混合润滑下粗糙表面的接触刚度研究*

针对润滑状态下结合面的接触刚度问题,建立一种混合润滑状态下粗糙表面接触刚度等效薄层模型,将接触界面的总刚度等效为固体接触刚度和润滑剂接触刚度之和,研究不同实际接触面积下的表面形貌和润滑剂类型对法向接触刚度的影响,并讨论固体刚度和润滑剂刚度占总法向刚度的比例。结果表明：粗糙界面的法向接触刚度随法向载荷的增加而增加,且混合润滑状态下的接触刚度大于干接触条件下的接触刚度;在初始接触时,法向接触刚度敏感地依赖于润滑性能;随着实际接触面积的增大,表面形貌对接触刚度的影响变得更加明显。     

UHMWPE复合材料水润滑轴承润滑状态转变性能研究

水润滑轴承润滑介质的黏度较低,轴承动压润滑难以形成。研究水润滑轴承润滑状态转变特性,可为水润滑复合材料轴承的设计和优化提供依据。建立水润滑轴承流固耦合计算模型,研究轴承承载力、水膜压力、轴承变形量随工况的变化关系,提出水膜厚度测试方法,研究轴承摩擦因数、水膜厚度随转速、负载的变化规律。研究结果表明:随偏心率和转速增大,轴承承载力、最大水膜压力和最大变形量均逐渐增大;随转速增大,轴承承载力、最大水膜压力和最大变形量的增幅逐渐减小。试验发现随着负载增大,改性UHMWPE轴承从混合润滑向动压润滑转变的膜厚比逐渐减小。     

The tribological behaviour of different clearance MOM hip joints with lubricants of physiological viscosities

Clearance is one of the most influential parameters on the tribological performance of metal-on-metal (MOM) hip joints and its selection is a subject of considerable debate. The objective of this paper is to study the lubrication behaviour of different clearances for MOM hip joints within the range of human physiological and pathological fluid viscosities. The frictional torques developed by MOM hip joints with a 50 mm diameter were measured for both virgin surfaces and during a wear simulator test. Joints were manufactured with three different diametral clearances: 20, 100, and 200 microm. The fluid used for the friction measurements which contained different ratios of 25 percent newborn calf serum and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) with the obtained viscosities values ranging from 0.001 to 0.71 Pa s. The obtained results indicate that the frictional torque for the 20 microm clearance joint remains high over the whole range of the viscosity values. The frictional torque of the 100 microm clearance joint was low for the very low viscosity (0.001 Pa s) lubricant, but increased with increasing viscosity value. The frictional torque of the 200 microm clearance joint was high at very low viscosity levels, however, it reduced with increasing viscosity. It is concluded that a smaller clearance level can enhance the formation of an elastohydrodynamic lubrication (EHL) film, but this is at the cost of preventing fluid recovery between the bearing surfaces during the unloaded phase of walking. Larger clearance bearings allow a better recovery of lubricant during the unloaded phase, which is necessary for higher viscosity lubricants. The selection of the clearance value should therefore consider both the formation of the EHL film and the fluid recovery as a function of the physiological viscosity in order to get an optimal tribological performance for MOM hip joints. The application of either 25 per cent bovine serum or water in existing in vitro tribological study should also be revised to consider the relevance of clinic synovial fluid viscosities and to avoid possible misleading results.     

Wear and lubrication in an artificial knee joint replacement

A theoretical study is made of the lubrication mechanism occuring in knee joint replacement under restricted motion. The idealised model has been shown to produce results, consistent with those in normal situations. Effects of increase in concentration of suspended particles in the analysis are similar to that of increase in concentration of hyaluronic acid molecules in synovial fluid. Important deductions are made for load capacity and volume wear rate and it has been shown that the slip velocity plays an important role in maintaining the self-adjusting nature of human joints.     

Modélisation du contact lubrifié—exemple de la mise en forme des métaux

Lubricated contact modelling — the example of metal forming processes. The theory of hydrodynamic (HD) lubrication was developed after the derivation of the Reynolds' equation in 1886. It allowed us to understand firstly low pressure lubricated contacts, then, when coupled with elastic deformation equations, high pressure lubricated contacts in elasto-hydrodynamic (EHD) lubrication. In the 60's, the same techniques were transposed to plasto-hydrodynamic lubrication (PHD), where one of the solids in contact is under plastic deformation, such as in metal forming processes. With the example of wire-drawing, the application of PHD models to metal forming is recalled. The importance of temperature effects on film formation and evolution was then an incentive to transposing thermo-EHD models into thermo-PHD. The roughness–lubricant flow coupling is then described, in EHD then in PHD. Finally, models of the mixed lubrication regime are addressed, whereby average contact pressure is borne partly by solid–solid, or micro-EHD, or boundary films, and partly by the hydrodynamic or hydrostatic pressure in the lubricant. Following a discussion of a few results on strip cold rolling, perspectives for evolution of these mixed regime PHD models are presented, in view of recent mixed-EHD models from the literature.     

化学反应膜对齿面润滑状态影响的研究

通过对齿面微观接触以及流体膜承载能力和边界膜承载能力相互关系的分析，从化学反应膜形成速度与磨损速度的平衡关系入手，建立了齿面化学反应膜对齿面润滑状态影响的数学模型，并通过试验验证了这一模型。结果表明：合适的化学反应膜，使表面形貌向着有利于润滑方向发展，使边界润滑向弹性流体润滑状态转变，从而提高齿面的承载能力。     

Determination of load carrying ability of chemical films developed in sliding point contact

It has already been known for many years that the use of some extreme-pressure (EP), antiwear or friction modifier (FM) additives in mineral oils can produce different kind of boundary or chemical reaction films on sliding contact surfaces of some kinds of steel in boundary lubrication conditions. Using a sliding ball-on-disc configuration lubricated with some kinds of EP or FM, the wear scars on the balls can always reach the same limit size at a specified applied load and sliding velocity. From the fact that the limit sizes of wear scars decrease as sliding speed is increased or applied load is decreased, the load carrying ability of a chemical film can be obtained by extrapolating the data to the condition of zero sliding speed and is so defined that if the contact pressure is greater than this load carrying ability, the contact surfaces will continuously be worn; if the contact pressure is smaller than it, no more wear will occur on the surfaces. Based on this load carrying ability, the hydrodynamic effect of sliding pairs can also be identified. Therefore, the limit size of wear scar at specified sliding speed and applied load can also be predicted in a mixed lubrication condition.     

水润滑塑料合金轴承的弹流润滑分析

建立水润滑塑料合金轴承的数学模型,对水润滑条件下塑料合金轴承的弹流润滑问题进行数值模拟,讨论转速和载荷对水润滑膜压力和膜厚的影响。结果表明:在水润滑条件下,转速对水润滑膜的压力影响不明显,而膜厚及最小膜厚随转速的增大而明显增大;随载荷的增大,压力峰值有明显增大,而在入口区压力随载荷增大而减小,膜厚及最小膜厚随载荷增大而减小。