Squeak Noise of Ceramic-on-ceramic Hip Joint using FEM

This paper describes the FEM analysis for squeak problem of the ceramic-on-ceramic hip joint system. The onset of hip squeak is estimated by the positive real parts of the eigenvalues in the hip joint system. From the complex eigenvalue analysis, the unstable frequencies and the corresponding mode shapes are determined at the certain severe friction coefficients. It is found that some bending and torsion modes of the femoral stem can be unstable due to the mode-coupling mechanism. It also shows that the magnitude of the friction coefficient plays a key role on the occurrence of hip squeak.