The effect of minimum load on the fluid uptake and wear of highly crosslinked UHMWPE total hip acetabular components

Thirteen total hip replacement acetabular components of the same design (32 mm diameter, cup liners made of highly crosslinked ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)) were tested in an AMTI hip simulator (six in wear stations and seven in load-soak stations). Two additional liners were immersed in undiluted bovine calf serum but not loaded. The test conditions were otherwise similar for all wear and load-soak samples, with the following exceptions: (a) no motion was applied onto load-soak liners; (b) the minimum load during the swing phase was set at 40 N for three of the wear liners and four of the load-soak liners (group A: low minimum load), and 230 N for the remaining three wear liners and three load-soak liners (group B: high minimum load). It was found that: (a) load-soak liners gained about 10 times more weight than no-load soak liners; (b) load-soak liners in the low minimum load group gained twice as much weight as those in the high minimum load group, and (c) the observed wear rates were low for both groups; surprisingly, however, the wear rates of the low minimum load liners were also higher than those of the high minimum load liners. This study showed for the first time that the fluid uptake and wear rates of highly crosslinked UHMWPE are sensitive to small differences in the loading pattern.     

Optimization on wear performance of UHMWPE composites using response surface methodology

This study examined the wear characteristics of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) reinforced with talc particles. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to construct empirical models to show the connection between control factors (filler loading, load and sliding speed) and responses (wear rate and average coefficient of friction (COF)) of UHMWPE. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was employed to project the optimization of the control variables in order to reduce the wear of UHMWPE. It was discovered that the rate of wear and the average COF of UHMWPE could be minimized by the inclusion of talc. The SEM analyses of the worn surfaces and transfer films indicated that the degree of wear on the surface of the UHMWPE was reduced.     

Effect of radiation dose on depth-dependent oxidation and wear of shelf-aged gamma-irradiated ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)

The effect of radiation dose on the depth-dependent oxidation and wear of shelf-aged gamma-irradiated UHMWPE was investigated in this paper. FTIR, micro-indentation, pin-on-plate wear tests and SEM imaging were carried out at three representative regions (surface, subsurface and center) for each sample. The experimental results show that when the oxidation index (OI) <1, the wear rate is clearly affected by the radiation dose (crosslinking density). When 1<OI<3, the wear rates are mainly controlled by the OI. When OI>3 – except for the 1000 kGy specimen – the wear resistance is severely deteriorated and the relationship with the radiation dose is difficult to predict. Results suggest that higher irradiation (above 200 kGy) is capable of lowering the oxidative degradation of UHMWPE.     

A hip simulator study of the influence of patient activity level on the wear of crosslinked polyethylene under smooth and roughened femoral conditions

Over the last three decades, tribological studies of polyethylene total hip replacements have been undertaken using a simplified model of normal walking. As hip prostheses are being implanted in younger and more active patients, coupled with the increased wear resistance of crosslinked polyethylene, such in vitro approximations in activity are very limiting. Using a hip joint simulator, the influence of a significant increase in patient activity was studied by applying a series of simulated walking, stumbling and jogging sequences, at varying cycle speeds, using crosslinked UHMWPE/CoCrMo components, with both smooth and roughened femoral heads. All tests were performed using 25% bovine calf serum, and all components were positioned physiologically. The effects on wear, frictional torque, counterface roughness, lubricant temperature, material deformation and particle morphology were measured and analysed. It was found that with smooth heads and non-constraining socket fixtures, the occurrence of excessive stumbling at 1 Hz (5 kN max) had a negligible effect on the wear rate of polyethylene, whilst simulated jogging at 1.75 Hz (4.5 kN max) only showed a median increase in wear volume of 40% compared to normal walking. Fast walking showed the largest wear rate, and was consistently greater than for simulated jogging, thus, suggesting that short periods of increased load and speed have a relatively small effect on polyethylene wear. However, increasing the femoral roughness R_a to 0.38 μm under simulated jogging, 1.75 Hz, led to a massive increase in wear and frictional torque, generating wear rates >3000 mm³/10⁶ cycles for crosslinked polyethylene. Surface topography, sliding speed and the type of socket fixturing were shown to be the most influential factors when simulating increased patient activity.     

Influence of protein and lipid concentration of the test lubricant on the wear of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene

To gain a better understanding of the ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) wear mechanism in the physiological environment, the effects of protein and lipid constituents of synovial fluid on the specific wear rate of UHMWPE were examined experimentally. The multidirectional sliding pin-on-plate wear tester was employed to simulate the simplified sliding condition of hip joint prostheses. Bovine serum γ-globulin and synthetic l--DPPC were used as model protein and lipid constituents of synovia, respectively. Results of the wear test indicated that the UHMWPE wear rate primarily depended on the protein concentration of the test lubricant. Lipids acted as a boundary lubricant and reduced polyethylene wear in the low protein lubricants. However, the polyethylene wear rate increased with increasing lipid concentrations if the protein concentration was within the physiological level. Increased interactions between protein and lipid molecules and lipid diffusion to polyethylene surface might be responsible for the increased wear.     

Scratch and wear performance of prosthetic femoral head components against crosslinked UHMWPE sockets

Total hip arthroplasty is a highly successful procedure where the hip joint is replaced by an artificial ball and socket joint. Bearing wear continues to be a contributing factor to implant failure. Prosthetic femoral heads roughen in vivo which leads to increased wear. Along with the introduction of improved polyethylene which reduces wear by up to 99%, improved femoral head materials have been introduced to improve resistance to abrasion. The abrasion resistance of two of these improved femoral heads was assessed in this study and compared to a cobalt chromium (CoCr) femoral head. The resulting wear performance against a polyethylene acetabular component was assessed. The bulk ceramic (zirconia toughened alumina) femoral head exhibited superior abrasion resistance compared to CoCr (97% reduction in damage) as well as reduced wear after abrasion (97% reduction in wear). The oxide coated zirconium niobium femoral head showed inferior abrasion resistance compared to CoCr (99% increase in damage) as well as increased wear after abrasion (161% increase in wear). Both femoral head surfaces utilize hard ceramic materials, however, the thin ceramic coating on top of a softer metallic substrate of the oxide coated bearing was unable to withstand aggressive abrasion.     

Friction and wear properties of UHMWPE/Al2O3 ceramic under different lubricating conditions

Friction and wear behavior of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) sliding against Al₂O₃ ceramic under dry sliding, and lubrication of fresh plasma, distilled water and physiological saline were investigated with a self-made pin-on-disk apparatus at 37±1°C. The worn surfaces were examined with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results show that the friction behavior of UHMWPE is very sensitive to its water absorption state. The wear rate of UHMWPE under dry sliding is the highest and under plasma lubrication is the lowest. The wear mechanisms are different under dry friction and various lubricating conditions.     

Identification of wear process parameters in reciprocating ball-on-disc tests

Wear test results are presented for a spherical indenter in reciprocal motion interacting with soft (aluminium alloy) and hard (construction steel) substrates. The aim of this paper is to provide evidence of the evolution of the contact zone, specification of wear scar depth and surface roughness in the contact zone. Numerical analysis of the interaction of the sliding sphere with the wear track provided contact zone dimensions, although these differed from the experimental data. The incremental wear factor is also introduced in the paper, while the formulae for the wear volume of the sphere recommended by ASTM have been improved.     

In-vitro measurement of the human knee joint motion during quadriceps leg raising

This paper represents a three-dimensional motion analysis of the human knee joint under given conditions of loading and constraint. As the knee is extended by a known force applied to the quadriceps tendon, relative displacements of the femur, tibia, and patella are measured using a video motion analysis system. The most prominent motion of the tibia is external rotation and anterior displacement relative to the femur during knee extension. The patellar flexion angle decreases from 70° to 0°. The moment arm of the knee extensor mechanism exhibits a characteristic bell shape which peaks somewhere in the 40°–60° region of flexion. In general, the quadriceps force results primarily from an increase in the torque exerted by the weight of the lower leg. In the range of 20°–60°, the quardricep force needed to extend the leg remains relatively constant. As the knee approaches full extension, the moment arm decreases due to the fact that the posterior capsule and the ACL begin to tighten in this region. Consequently, the quadriceps force increases rapidly.     

Review of oxidational wear: Part I: The origins of oxidational wear

This is the first part of a two-part in-depth review of the oxidational wear of metals. It discusses the parallelism between the formation of an oxide film for dry contact conditions and of other surface films for lubricated contacct. Wear modes are unified into two major classes of mild and severe wear, including both lubricated both dry and conditions. Oxidational wear is a mechanism of mild wear in which protective oxide films are formed at the real areas of contact (during the time of a contact) at the contact temperature, T_cc. When the oxide reaches a critical thickness ξ, usually 1 to 3 μm, the oxide breaks up and eventually appears as wear particles. These oxides are preferentially formed on plateaux, which alternately carry the load - as they reach their critical thickness - and are removed. Temperature is important in determining the structure of the oxide film present, which in turn affects the wear properties of the sliding interfaces. Hence, this part of the review concludes with a thorough treatment of the thermal aspects involved during the sliding of a typical laboratory simulation of the oxidational wear of steel specimens without lubrication. This treatment shows how the general surface temperature (T_s) and the division of heat (?)_at the interface can be calculated and used, in conjunction with the measured wear rate (w), to give information about a possible surface model consisting of N contracts on the (thermally expanded) operative plateau, the height of the plateau being identical to the critical oxide film thickness (ξ) mentioned above.Part II outlines recent research to determine the oxidational constant, ie the activation energy and the Arrhenius constant, relevant to oxidational wear. It is found that the Arrhenius constant for oxidational wear is different from that for static oxidation tests. Some typical values of N, ξ and T_c are calculated from oxidational wear experiments. A new oxidational wear theory designed to take into account the oxide growth which occurs at the general surface temperature, T_s (where T_s < T_c) , whilst operation plateau is out-of-contact. This theory is most relevant to weat at elevated temperatures, where it is not permissible to assume that out-of-contact oxidation is negligible. After a brief review of the small amount of work done on the effects of partial oxygen pressures on oxidational wear, Part II concludes with a discussion of the possible connection between the general oxidational wear theory for dry contacts and the wear which occurs at lubricated contacts.     

Long-term in-vitro wear performance of an innovative thermo-compressed cross-linked polyethylene

New cross-linked polyethylene acetabular cups, obtained by thermo-compression process, were compared with conventional and traditional commercially available cross-linked polyethylene in terms of wear behaviour in a hip simulator for 10 million cycles using bovine calf serum as lubricant.Gravimetric measurements revealed significant differences between the wear behaviours of the five sets of acetabular cups. In particular, this new type of thermo-compression cross-linked wore more than the traditional cross-linked polyethylene but exhibited a wear rate about four times lower than conventional ultra-high-molecular-weight-polyethylene.The FTIR analyses indicate that oxidation to various extents appears as a consequence of γ-irradiation in presence of oxygen.     

The effect of oxide-forming alloying elements on the high temperature wear of a hot work steel

A great deal of research has been conducted to clarify the role of oxide films in the wear of metals. Oxides formed during dry sliding of steels at high temperatures determine their tribological behavior. The present work deals with the influence of the oxide-forming alloying elements aluminum and silicon on the oxidation and wear of three selected hot work steels. For this investigation, ball-on-disc experiments were carried out in ambient air and 500 °C. Wear tracks on the disks and balls were characterized using both a scanning electron microscope and an optical profiler. The oxidation products were characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy-dispersive electron probe microanalysis. The results show that the alloying elements aluminum and silicon yield a reduction of the oxide film thickness and thus lead to an increase in mechanical wear as temperature rises.     

The characterization of wear transitions in sliding wear process contaminated with silica and iron powder

When a machine is in operation, two moving surfaces interact to generate a large amount of wear particles. The wear debris generated inside the machine or contaminants from outside plays important roles in both two-body and three-body wear. For all mining and port machinery, their lubricants are very likely to be polluted by contaminants such as silica and other metallic debris such as iron and nickel. In order to seek a deeper understanding of the effects of different contaminants on wear process, this project investigated sliding wear processes when silica powder and iron powder exist in lubricants.Four sliding wear tests were conducted on a pin-on-disc tester with and without the contaminants. Visual inspection, ferrography analysis, particle quantity analysis using a particle analyzer, and numerical surface analysis using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) were conducted to study the wear particles and wear surfaces. Supported by the data generated from the comprehensive analyses on the wear particles and wear surfaces, the investigation of the effects of the added contaminants to the wear processes and wear mechanisms have been carried out and presented in this paper.     

Effects of hip-loading input on simulated wear of Al2O3–PTFE materials

The objective of this study was to compare the effects of static, sinusoidal and physiological load-profiles on wear of Al₂O₃–PTFE materials. This was an accelerated wear model of clinical relevance. In nine experiments, the peak load-levels were varied from 1 to 4 kN in a hip simulator with multi-directional kinematics and with bovine serum used as the lubricant. Systematic wear differences were checked using three sizes of femoral heads in each experiment. The Paul load-profile used was found to be more aggressive than sinusoidal, raising the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) wear-rates by 28%. The PTFE cups showed a very mild response to increased load magnitudes, only 11–20% increase evident in volumetric wear per 1 kN increase in load. One recommendation was that simulator wear-studies adopt a 0.25–2.5 kN Paul load-profile as their standard. An experiment with 0.84 kN constant-load also performed satisfactorily, with PTFE wear-rates actually higher than with the 1 kN sine and Paul load-profiles. Some wear anomalies were encountered due to the use of serum lubrication. Combinations of large head size, high load-magnitudes, the Paul load-profile and the high serum protein concentrations used in this study were at times contributing factors. Use of low-protein serum solution may be advisable for wear studies, not only to properly simulate the polymeric wear characteristics but also to minimize the degradation artifacts more prevalent in higher protein-concentrations.     

The relevance of wear-mechanism maps to mild-oxidational wear

The presence of oxygen in the environment in which a steel sliding system operates will promote a mild form of wear with wear debris consisting mainly of iron oxides. Of the oxidation-dominated mechanisms, mild-oxidational wear (the prefix describes the extent of oxidation and not the wear rate) has been most extensively investigated. In this paper, examples will be used to show that the wear-mechanism map for the unlubricated sliding of steels can adequately predict the occurrence of mild-oxidational wear and the trend of wear rates as well as describe the resultant features on the worn surfaces. It is also shown that this map is relevant to delamination wear and to test geometries other than the pin-on-disk configuration. It is suggested that the more-recently constructed wear maps for aluminium and magnesium alloys could similarly be used to predict the wear characteristics of these alloys during sliding.     

The influence of surface deformation on mechanical wear

The evidence for the plastic strain of wearing surfaces and its influence upon them is briefly described. Two distinct analytical approximations are available for calculating these effects: an elasto-plastic approximation, and a rigid-plastic approximation. These lead to two different damage rules and two different methods of idealizing asperity shape. Experiments and finite element analysis help to delineate the range of application of each of these models, and their associated damage rules, but it is clear that further theoretical developments are needed if wear is to be reliably predicted for most engineering contacts.     

精密切削刀具磨损监控系统设计

设计了刀具磨损检测控制系统,采用EPF10K10TC144-4主控芯片、位移传感器,采用分布式算法编制了控制软件并进行了系统仿真。将数据输入到CNC系统,修改刀具参数,并在数控车床上进行了切削实验。对比研究结果表明,该系统避免了人工检测误差、机床频繁停机,减少了换刀次数和重新对刀引入的二次误差,延长了刀具有效使用时间,且加工效率、加工精度、产品合格率都有明显提高。     

Enhancement effect of nanoparticles on the sliding wear of short fiber-reinforced polymer composites: A critical discussion of wear mechanisms

Short fiber-reinforced polymers (SFRPs) form an important class of tribo-materials owing to their high specific strength, good load-carrying capacity and rapid, low-cost processibility. Nevertheless, further developments are still under way to tailor their properties for more extreme loading conditions and to explore new fields of application for these materials. Recently, nano-sized inorganic particles have come under consideration. It was found that the addition of a small percentage of rigid nanoparticles to SFRPs may significantly improve their wear resistance, especially under high pv (the product of p (pressure) and v (velocity)) conditions. However, the detailed mechanisms of such improvement have not been fully understood yet.The objective of this study is to achieve an in-depth understanding of the role of the nanoparticles in modifying the sliding wear behavior of SFRPs. In particular, the effects of nanoparticles on contact mechanics and wear behavior of the transfer film were investigated. It was found that the additional nanoparticles do not directly contribute to the formation of a high performance transfer film. However, the presence of nanoparticles in the contact region can effectively reduce the adhesion between the transfer film and the polymeric specimen, resulting in a lower coefficient of friction. In particular, the rolling behavior of nanoparticles can significantly enhance the tribological performance of SFRPs especially under extreme sliding conditions.     

The effects of work material on tool wear

Wear maps showing the wear behaviour of titanium carbide (TiC)-coated cemented carbide tools during dry turning of various types of steel have been presented in earlier studies. The maps have demonstrated that tool wear rates vary with cutting speeds and feed rates used. They have also shown that there is a range of cutting conditions, called the safety zone, within which tool wear rates are the lowest. This paper further examines, using the wear mapping methodology, the effects of different grades of steel workpieces on the wear of TiC-coated carbide tools. Wear maps constructed for the machining of AISI 1045 and 4340 steels show that flank wear is generally more severe when machining the AISI 4340 grade, especially at high cutting speeds and feed rates. Nevertheless, the contour and location of the safety zone on the wear maps for both grades of steels correspond to that revealed in previous work on general steel grades.