Performance of CF/PA12 composite femoral stems

This study presents the microstructural and mechanical behavior of the CF/PA12 composite material developed as well as its biomechanical performance when used for the fabrication of femoral stems. The static tests were performed to evaluate the compressive and flexural modulus as well as the ultimate compressive and bending strength. It was found that CF/PA12 composite had bone-matching properties in the same order of magnitude as cortical bone in the femur. Density and void content measurements were also done to assess the consolidation quality. Dynamic fatigue testing was conducted on both CF/PA12 cylinders and femoral stems to evaluate the long term durability and mechanical reliability of the composite. Compression–compression cyclic loading was used at a frequency of 6 Hz with loads varying between 17 kN and 22 kN for the composite cylinders while a frequency of 10 Hz and load of 2300 N was employed for the femoral stems. Results indicate that the fatigue performance of CF/PA12 composite surpasses by far the required fatigue performance for total hip prosthesis (THP) stems. The overall performance of the CF/PA12 femoral stems confirms that this composite is an excellent candidate material for orthopedic applications such as THP stems.

[1]  A. Burstein,et al.  The elastic and ultimate properties of compact bone tissue. , 1975, Journal of biomechanics.

[2]  Guk-Rwang Won.  American Society for Testing and Materials , 1987 .

[3]  K. Radermacher,et al.  Critical evaluation of known bone material properties to realize anisotropic FE-simulation of the proximal femur. , 2000, Journal of biomechanics.

[4]  D. Taylor.,et al.  An Isoelastic Prosthesis Using a New Composite Material , 1993, Proceedings of the Institution of mechanical engineers. Part H, journal of engineering in medicine.

[5]  E. Schneider,et al.  Estimation of mechanical properties of cortical bone by computed tomography , 1991, Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society.

[6]  F. Chang,et al.  Stiffness and strength tailoring of a hip prosthesis made of advanced composite materials. , 1990, Journal of biomedical materials research.

[7]  José A. Simões,et al.  Design of a composite hip femoral prosthesis , 2005 .

[8]  F. Adam,et al.  Early failure of a press-fit carbon fiber hip prosthesis with a smooth surface. , 2002, The Journal of arthroplasty.

[9]  M. Akay,et al.  Numerical and experimental stress analysis of a polymeric composite hip joint prosthesis. , 1996, Journal of biomedical materials research.

[10]  H. Skinner.  Isoelasticity and total hip arthroplasty. , 1991, Orthopedics.

[11]  J. Simões,et al.  Determination of stiffness properties of braided composites for the design of a hip prosthesis , 2001 .

[12]  Aurelian Vadean,et al.  Design of a biomimetic polymer-composite hip prosthesis. , 2007, Journal of biomedical materials research. Part A.

[13]  B. Marple,et al.  Development of osteoblast colonies on new bioactive coatings , 2006, International Thermal Spray Conference.

[14]  S A Goldstein,et al.  A comparison of the fatigue behavior of human trabecular and cortical bone tissue. , 1992, Journal of biomechanics.

[15]  Patrick J. Prendergast,et al.  Measurement of the Relative Motion Between an Implant and Bone under Cyclic Loading , 2004 .

[16]  S. Esterby.  American Society for Testing and Materials , 2006 .

[17]  J. Denault,et al.  Fatigue resistance of continuous glass fiber/polypropylene composites: consolidation dependence , 2004 .

[18]  M. Santare,et al.  Preliminary Study on Composite Hip Prostheses Made by Resin Transfer Molding , 1999 .

[19]  L. Nicolais,et al.  Polymer-based composite hip prostheses. , 2000, Journal of inorganic biochemistry.

[20]  A. Burstein,et al.  The elastic modulus for bone. , 1974, Journal of biomechanics.

[21]  G. Bergmann,et al.  Hip joint loading during walking and running, measured in two patients. , 1993, Journal of biomechanics.

[22]  José A. Simões,et al.  Design of a controlled-stiffness composite proximal femoral prosthesis , 2000 .