A model for the lubrication mechanism in knee joint replacements

Analytical studies are presented of the lubrication mechanism occurring in knee-joint replacements under restricted motion. The idealized model is shown to produce results consistent with those in normal situations. The effects of increasing the viscoelastic parameter of the lubricant are similar to those produced by an increase in the concentration of hyaluronic acid molecules in synovial fluid. Slip velocity occurring at the porous boundary aids the normal functioning of the joints. The load capacity of the replaced tibia has been shown to increase as the gap closes and/or the femoro-tibial angle decreases from π/20 to ?π/20 rad.     

Design aspects of compliant, soft layer bearings for an experimental hip prosthesis

Currently, an artificial hip joint can be expected to last, on average, in excess of 15 years with failure due, in the majority of cases, to late aseptic loosening of the acetabular component. A realistic alternative to the problem of wear in conventional joints is the introduction of bearing surfaces that exhibit low wear and operate in the full fluid-film lubrication regime. Contact analyses and friction tests were performed on compliant layer joints (metal-on-polyurethane) and the design of a prototype ovine arthroplasty model was investigated. When optimized, these components have been shown to achieve full fluid-film lubrication.     

Lubrication regimes in lumbar total disc arthroplasty

A number of total disc arthroplasty devices have been developed. Some concern has been expressed that wear may be a potential failure mode for these devices, as has been seen with hip arthroplasty. The aim of this paper was to investigate the lubrication regimes that occur in lumbar total disc arthroplasty devices. The disc arthroplasty was modelled as a ball-and-socket joint. Elastohydrodynamic lubrication theory was used to calculate the minimum film thickness of the fluid between the bearing surfaces. The lubrication regime was then determined for different material combinations, size of implant, and trunk velocity. Disc arthroplasties with a metal-polymer or metal-metal material combination operate with a boundary lubrication regime. A ceramic-ceramic material combination has the potential to operate with fluid-film lubrication. Disc arthroplasties with a metal-polymer or metal-metal material combination are likely to generate wear debris. In future, it is worth considering a ceramic-ceramic material combination as this is likely to reduce wear.     

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.     

Analysis of rotation in the lubrication of a porous slider bearing: Small rotation

A mathematical model is developed to investigate the behaviour of a plane-inclined porous slider bearing under the effect of a uniform small rotation. The Beavers-Joseph slip condition was used for the slip velocity at the porous boundary. The expressions for dimensionless pressure distribution, load-carrying capacity and coefficient of friction are obtained. It is concluded that the load-carrying capacity and coefficient of friction depend on the direction and magnitude of rotation. For a negative rotation the load-carrying capacity increases and the coefficient of friction decreases. The load-carrying capacity also decreases with increase in the slip velocity parameter.     

一种新型摩擦材料在水润滑下的摩擦学性能研究

采用环块式摩擦磨损实验研究了一种新型摩擦材料在水润滑状态下不同载荷与转速对试样摩擦学性能的影响,并对比干摩擦条件下的摩擦学性能变化,借助磨损表面形貌观察分析其磨损机理。实验结果表明:水润滑条件下,摩擦系数随着载荷的增大而减小,随着转速的提高先增加后减小;磨损率随着载荷与转速的提高都减小。相同载荷与转速下,干摩擦时磨损机理以磨粒磨损和黏着磨损为主,而水润滑条件下水形成边界润滑,磨损机理以磨粒磨损和轻微的黏着磨损为主;水润滑条件下摩擦系数和磨损率均低于干摩擦,主要是由于水起到了润滑和冷却的作用,阻止了转移膜的形成,并在材料表面形成水膜起到了边界润滑的作用。     

人工关节材料的表面润滑设计与应用

人工关节的摩擦磨损问题仍然是基础研究中最重要的问题,借助表面改性技术改善假体的摩擦学性能是人工关节未来发展的必经之路。从润滑角度考虑,对假体关节材料摩擦性能的研究主要集中在表面功能化润滑结构设计以及新型仿生润滑剂研究两方面。针对功能化润滑结构,介绍表面织构设计以及聚合物刷的应用,分析表面织构参数对不同运动工况下摩擦副摩擦性能的影响,阐述表面织构的润滑机制;总结不同种类的聚合物刷结构对摩擦体系耐磨性能的调控,阐明"刷型"结构在摩擦界面的水润滑特点,提出环境介质对聚合物刷结构及性质的影响作用。针对关节润滑剂,介绍传统的关节滑液组分向聚合物仿生润滑剂的拓展。指出微/纳结构的嵌套设计与协同润滑以及润滑剂结构仿生与功能仿生的结合,将是未来的重要发展方向。     

高载荷条件下石墨-石墨摩擦副的摩擦学特性研究

利用研制的高载荷条件下摩擦因数测试装置,研究了石墨/石墨摩擦副在空气、水和油介质中的摩擦学特性。结果表明在4~15MPa范围内,随着载荷的增加,摩擦副在空气、水和油介质中的摩擦因数都逐渐降低;在油介质中摩擦副的摩擦因数最小,在水介质中摩擦因数变化最平稳,在空气中摩擦因数最大,且随载荷的增加变化幅度最大。磨损表面原始形貌对比分析表明,在空气中,摩擦副表面处于边界润滑状态,主要磨损机制是粘着磨损和犁削;水润滑条件下为轻微犁削;油润滑条件下,摩擦副表面处于为边界润滑和流体润滑状态,油中的减摩剂对试样表面有抛光作用。     

Fretting wear of carburized titanium alloy against ZrO2 under serum lubrication

Fretting wear of carburized titanium alloys was investigated on the universal multifunctional tester (UMT) with the ball-on-flat fretting style under bovine serum lubrication. The tangential load and friction coefficient during the fretting process were analyzed, and the evolution of fretting log during the fretting process was investigated to understand the wear mechanism of the titanium alloy and carburized titanium alloy. Furthermore, the wear scar was examined using a SEM and three-dimension surface profiler. It was found that the friction coefficient of the titanium alloy increased faster than that of carburized titanium alloy in the first stage under serum lubrication, and then remained steady with a similar value in the second stage. The Ft-D curve indicated that there was wear mechanism transition from gross slip to mixed stick and slip. Finally, it was observed that there was a slight damage of the titanium alloy and carburized titanium alloy showed excellent performance during the fretting wear process under serum lubrication. All of the results suggested that carburized titanium alloy was a potential candidate for the stem material in artificial joints.     

The influence of continuous sliding and subsequent surface wear on the friction of articular cartilage.

Reciprocating motion friction tests were conducted upon cartilage-on-metal contacts while subjected to a constant load. Initial friction coefficients were compared with repeat friction coefficients following a sufficient load removal period. The repeat friction coefficients were marginally higher than the initial values and both were primarily dependent on the loading time. It was concluded that while a wear component had been identified, which modestly increased friction coefficients, the overriding parameter influencing friction was loading time. The authors postulate that fluid phase load carriage (being dependent on loading time) within the articular cartilage is largely responsible for low friction coefficients in the mixed and boundary lubrication regimes. This mechanism has been referred to as biphasic lubrication. Both synovial fluid and Ringer's solution were used as lubricants. Over the assessed 120 min loading time friction coefficients rose from 0.005 (for both lubricants) after 5 s to 0.50 and 0.57 for synovial fluid and Ringer's solution respectively. Synovial fluid was found to significantly reduce friction coefficients compared to Ringer's solution over broad ranges of the assessed loading times (p < 0.05). Stylus and non-contacting laser profilometry were successfully employed to provide reliable, quantitative and accurate measures of surface roughness. Laser profilometry before and after a continuous sliding friction test revealed a significant increase in surface roughness from Ra = 0.8 (+/- 0.2) micron to Ra = 2.1 (+/- 0.2) microns, (p < 0.0005); confirming that surface wear was occurring. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed the typical highly orientated collagen fibres of the superficial tangential zone. Environmental SEM (ESEM) of fully hydrated cartilage specimens provided largely featureless images of the surface which suggested that sample preparation for conventional SEM was detrimental to the authenticity of the cartilage surface appearance using SEM. Two distinct acellular, non-collagenous surface layers were identified using ESEM and transmission electron microscopy (TEM); respectively referred to as the boundary layer and surface lamina. The phospholipid/glycoprotein based boundary layer will provide boundary lubrication during intimate contact of opposing cartilage surfaces. The surface lamina, being a continuum of the proteoglycan interfibrillar matrix, is present to prevent fibrillation of the underlying collagen fibres. Both layers may contribute to the time dependent frictional response of articular cartilage. Although laser profilometry did reveal surface wear which was consistent with a small increase in friction, the primary variable controlling the friction coefficient was the period of loading.     

有机无灰减摩剂对流体动压润滑减摩性能影响机制

有机无灰减摩剂能减低流体动压润滑摩擦因数,对提升流体动压润滑性能提供了新思路。采用单油酸甘油酯、油酸、季戊四醇四异硬脂酸酯、司盘80作为有机无灰减摩剂,以质量分数5%与PAO 5基础油进行调和,制备4种不同润滑油样,采用流体动压润滑试验机对比其摩擦学性能。试验结果表明,有机无灰减摩剂在边界润滑和混合润滑中均具有一定减摩效果,在流体动压润滑下减摩效果更明显。其中,含质量分数5%季戊四醇四异硬脂酸酯的油样具有最佳的减摩作用,其在流体动压润滑状态下可使基础油的摩擦因数降低19.6%。分子动力学模拟结果显示,有机无灰减摩剂在摩擦表面产生滑移现象,减少了分子间碳链的相互缠绕,进而降低流体动压润滑下的摩擦因数。     

Tribology of human and artificial joints.

Studies of human joint lubrication mechanisms have led to the conclusion that under normal healthy conditions they are fluid film lubricated. The main features responsible for allowing this mechanism to operate are the dynamic nature of the loading and the compliance of the bearing surfaces (articular cartilage). In contrast, artificial joints, being made of much more rigid materials, have been demonstrated to be lubricated by a mixed regime, where some load is carried by the fluid film and some by solid to solid contact. Since some surface contact takes place then wear remains a problem and friction is much higher than in human joints. The use of compliant surface bearings for artificial joints has been explored and shown to be of great advantage, reproducing the effects of natural joints. However, elastomeric materials are known to degrade in aqueous solutions so this aspect has been examined to ensure a reasonable life in the human body. Joints of the lower limb--hip, knee, and ankle--have similar load and motion patterns and behave in a similar way in terms of lubrication. Joints of the hand are not in any way similar in their behaviour and so a typical upper limb joint, the finger, has been studied to see if improvements can be made to the design of replacement artificial joints. Novel suggestions like plastic on plastic joints have been shown to be an alternative which is worthy of further consideration.     

The effect of femoral head diameter upon lubrication and wear of metal-on-metal total hip replacements

It has been found that a remarkable reduction in the wear of metal-on-metal hip joints can be achieved by simply increasing the diameter of the joint. A tribological evaluation of metal-on-metal joints of 16, 22.225, 28 and 36 mm diameter was conducted in 25 per cent bovine serum using a hip joint simulator. The joints were subject to dynamic motion and loading cycles simulating walking for both lubrication and wear studies. For each size of joint in the lubrication study, an electrical resistivity technique was used to detect the extent of surface separation through a complete walking cycle. Wear of each size of joint was measured gravimetrically in wear tests of at least 2 x 10(6) cycles duration. Joints of 16 and 22.225 mm diameter showed no surface separation in the lubrication study. This suggested that wear would be proportional to the sliding distance and hence joint size in this boundary lubrication regime. A 28 mm diameter joint showed only limited evidence of surface separation suggesting that these joints were operating in a mixed lubrication regime. A 36 mm diameter joint showed surface separation for considerable parts of each walking cycle and hence evidence of the formation of a protective lubricating film. Wear testing of 16 and 22.225 mm diameter metal-on-metal joints gave mean wear rates of 4.85 and 6.30 mm3/10(6) cycles respectively. The ratio of these wear rates, 0.77, is approximately the same as the joint diameters ratio, 16/22.225 or 0.72, as expected from simple wear theory for dry or boundary lubrication conditions. No bedding-in was observed with these smaller diameter joints. For the 28 mm diameter joint, from 0 to 2 x 10(6) cycles, the mean wear rate was 1.62 mm3/10(6) cycles as the joints bedded-in. Following bedding-in, from 2.0 x 10(6) to 4.7 x 10(6) cycles, the wear rate was 0.54 mm3/10(6) cycles. As reported previously by Goldsmith et al. in 2000 [1], the mean steady state wear rate of the 36 mm diameter joints was lower than those of all the other diameters at 0.07 mm3/10(6) cycles. For a range of joints of various diameters, subjected to identical test conditions, mean wear rates differed by almost two orders of magnitude. This study has demonstrated that the application of sound tribological principles to prosthetic design can reduce the wear of metal-on-metal joints, using currently available materials, to a negligible level.     

Hydrodynamic lubrication of porous journal bearings using a modified Brinkman-extended Darcy model

A numerical solution for the hydrodynamic lubrication of finite porous journal bearings considering the flexibility of the liner is introduced. The Brinkman-extended Darcy equations and the Stokes' equations are utilized to model the flow in the porous region and fluid film region, respectively. A stress jump boundary condition at the porous media/fluid film interface and effects of viscous shear are included into the lubrication analysis. Elrod's cavitation algorithm, which automatically predicts film rupture and reformation in the bearing, is implemented in the solution scheme. The present analysis predictions for pressure distributions, load carrying capacity, and friction factor are in good agreement with three different sets of experimental results available in the literature. Furthermore, the effects of dimensionless permeability parameter, and stress jump parameter on performance parameters such as load carrying capacity, side leakage, friction factor, and attitude angle, are presented and discussed.     

Stribeck Curve Under Friction of Copper Samples in the Steady Friction State

The friction and wear of a pure copper block (99.98 wt% Cu) against a hardened steel disc were studied. The effect of sliding velocity and load on the friction coefficient and wear rate of Cu samples during steady tests was studied. Elasto-hydrodynamic (EHL), mixed (ML) and boundary lubrication (BL) regions were analyzed using the Stribeck curve. The lubrication number of Schipper, Z, was used in the analysis of the Stribeck curve. The transitions from one lubrication region to another are discussed. The mixed EHL region is characterized by stable low values of the friction coefficient, wear rate and temperature. Straight asperity contact is the dominant mechanism under friction of Cu–steel pair in the BL region. High-friction coefficients and wear rates, thin lubricant films and large wear grooves indicate straight asperity contact between rubbed surfaces in the BL region. Although the dominant mechanisms in the mixed EHL and BL regions are different in principle, a steady friction state is preserved in both cases. It is expected that the steady friction state in the BL and mixed EHL regions is associated with deformation and fracture of surface layers but these process occur at different scale levels. It was shown that under friction of Cu–steel pair, two types of ML regions are observed. The first is the stable steady friction of mixed EHL with low values of the friction coefficient and wear rate. The second type of the ML region is the region of unstable friction and wear when a decrease of lubricant film leads to a change of external (roughness, temperature, friction and wear) and internal (strain and stress) parameters. It was found out that a transition to the unstable ML region occurs within a narrow range of Z parameter under definite values of the load and sliding velocity.     

Friction and Wear Characteristics of TiN Coated Vane for the Rotary Compressor in a R410A Refrigerant©

HFC is a potential alternative refrigerant for CFC, which depletes the ozone layer. The rotary compressor has been widely used for refrigeration and air-conditioning systems due to its compactness and high-speed operation. R410A, an HFC refrigerant, is used in a refrigerator compressor, but its frictional characteristic is not established. In this study, the influence of R410A refrigerant on the roller-vane surfaces was studied, and friction and wear characteristics of the TiN coated vane were investigated. The friction and wear data were obtained with a specially designed high-pressure wear tester. A testing environment charged with HFC refrigerant more closely simulates the operating conditions of a real rotary compressor. In pure oil without R410A, wear of the TiN coated vane was larger than that of the uncoated vane. But when the refrigerant was dissolved in oil, wear of the uncoated vane was larger than that of the TiN coated vane. This showed that a TiN coated vane is good relative to wear resistance in the refrigerant/lubricant mixed environment. As the rotating speed of the frictional motion increased, wear increased. But in the high-velocity region, wear decreased because the boundary lubrication is changed into the mixed lubrication in the lubrication region. As the pressure grew larger, wear volume and coefficient of friction became larger. This is because the amount of the refrigerants dissolved in oil increased and the viscosity of oil dropped as the pressure increased.     

Compliant-poroelastic lubrication in cartilage-on-cartilage line contacts

ABSTRACT

The mechanisms of friction in natural joints are still relatively unknown and attempts at modelling cartilage-cartilage interfaces are rare despite the huge promise they offer in understanding bio-friction. This article derives a model combining finite strain, porous and thin-film flow theories to describe the lubrication of cartilage-on-cartilage line contacts. The material is modelled as compliant and poroelastic in which the micro-scale fibrous structure is interstitially filled with synovial fluid. This fluid flows over the interface between the bodies and is coupled to pressure generated by relative motion in the thin-film region formed under load. A Stribeck analysis demonstrated that this type of contact is determinable to conventional elastic lubrication but that the friction performance is improved by this interfacial flow. Moreover, the inclusion of periodic flow conditions when contact is onset is a specific novelty which elucidates new observations in the lubrication mechanisms pertaining to natural joints.     

Comparison of friction and lubrication of different hip prostheses

It is well documented that an important cause of osteolysis and subsequent loosening of replacement hip joints is polyethylene wear debris. To avoid this, interest has been renewed in metal-on-metal and ceramic-on-ceramic prostheses. Various workers have assessed the lubrication modes of different joints by measuring the friction at the bearing surfaces, using different lubricants. Measurements of friction factors of a series of hip prostheses were undertaken using carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) fluids, silicone fluids, synovial fluid and different concentrations of bovine serum as the lubricant. The experimental results were compared with theoretical predictions of film thicknesses and lubrication modes. A strong correlation was observed between experiment and theory when employing CMC fluids or silicone fluids as the lubricant. Mixed lubrication was found to occur in the metal-on-metal (CoCrMo/CoCrMo) joints with all lubricants at a viscosity within the physiological range. This was also the case for the metal-on-plastic (CoCrMo/ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene) joints. The ceramic-on-ceramic (Al2O3/Al2O3) joints, however, exhibited full fluid film lubrication with the synthetic lubricants but mixed lubrication with the biological lubricants. Employing a biological fluid as the lubricant affected the friction to varying degrees when compared with the synthetic lubricants. In the case of the ceramic-on-ceramic joints it acted to increase the friction factor tenfold; however, for the metal-on-metal joints, biological fluids gave slightly lower friction than the synthetic lubricants did. This suggests that, when measuring friction and wear of artificial joints, a standard lubricant should be used.     

Effect of Magnetic Field in Lubrication of Synovial Joints

A two region flow model has been developed in this paper in the presence of external magnetic field for the better understanding of synovial joint lubrication mechanism. The model consists of two parallel porous cartilageous surfaces separated by a thin film of non newtonian lubricant representing the synovial fluid which is assumed to behave like a paramagnetic fluid system. In this paper, we have represented the cartilage by a mixture of two interacting continua and synovial fluid by viscoelastic fluid. A transverse magnetic field is applied to the system. We have used the modified form of Darcy’s law given by Zahn and Rosenweig; to describe the penetration dynamics of magnetic fluids through porous media. Because of exact solution not being possible for the governing non-linear partial differential equations, the perturbation method has been used to obtain approximate solutions. The results have been obtained by computational techniques and compared by results available in the literature. In this paper, the possibility of increased efficiency of joint lubrication, particularly in diseased states by the application of applied magnetic fields has been explored. The applied magnetic field increases the load carrying capacity. Which helps in sustaining greater loads. Similarly, the viscoelastic parameter describes the increase in the concentration of the suspended hyaluronic acid molecules which, in turn, increases the overall viscosity of the lubricant, which also helps in sustaining greater loads.