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How do material properties influence wear and fracture mechanisms?

Dr. Rimnac is Wilbert J. Austin Professor of Engineering and Chair, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH. Dr. Pruitt is Lawrence Talbot Professor of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA.

*The Implant Wear Symposium 2007 Engineering Work Group included Donald L. Bartel, PhD, Thomas D. Brown, PhD, Ian C. Clarke, PhD, Roy D. Crowninshield, PhD, Darryl D’Lima, MD, PhD, A. Seth Greenwald, DPhil(Oxon), Steven M. Kurtz, PhD, Jack Lemons, PhD, Michael T. Manley, PhD, Harry A. McKellop, PhD, Orhun K. Muratoglu, PhD, Ebru Oral, PhD, Lisa Pruitt, PhD, Clare Rimnac, PhD, Peter S. Walker, PhD, and Timothy Wright, PhD.

Dr. Rimnac or a member of her immediate family has received research or institutional support from the National Institutes of Health, Sulzer, Stryker Orthopaedics, and Zimmer. Dr. Pruitt or a member of her immediate family has received research or institutional support from the National Science Foundation.

The wear and fracture mechanisms of ultra-high–molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) hip and knee implant components are of great interest. The material properties of UHMWPE are affected by ionizing radiation as used for sterilization and cross-linking. Cross-linking with high-dose irradiation has been shown to improve the wear resistance of UHMWPE. However, cross-linking leads to a loss in properties such as ductility and resistance to fatigue crack propagation. Highly cross-linked UHMWPE may be more susceptible than conventional UHMWPE to fracture under severe clinical conditions (eg, impingement). Contemporary hip and knee simulator studies provide good information with which new UHMWPE formulations can be screened for clinical wear performance. However, comparable methodologies are lacking for screening UHMWPEs for fracture resistance. Mechanical tests as well as computational material and structural models should be developed to evaluate the combined effect of material and geometry (structure) on fracture resistance under clinically relevant loading conditions.