The effects of material combination and lubricant on the friction of total hip prostheses

S. C. Scholes, A. Unsworth*, R. M. Hall, R. Scott

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Polymeric wear debris produced by articulation of the femoral head against the ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) socket of a total hip replacement has been implicated as the main cause of osteolysis and subsequent failure of these implants. Potential solutions to this problem are to employ hard-bearing surface combinations such as metal-on-metal or ceramic-on-ceramic prostheses. The aim of this study was to investigate the difference in lubrication modes and friction of a range of material combinations using synthetic and biological fluids as the lubricants. 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 carboxy methyl cellulose fluids as the lubricant. Under these conditions, the ceramic-on-ceramic joints showed full fluid film lubrication while the metal-on-metal and metal-on-plastic prostheses operated under a mixed lubrication regime. With bovine serum as the lubricant in the all ceramic joint however, the full fluid film lubrication was inhibited due to adsorbed proteins. In the metal-on-metal joints, this adsorbed protein layer acted to reduce the friction while in the ceramic coupling the friction was increased. The use of bovine serum as the lubricant also significantly increased the friction in the metal-on-plastic joint. Therefore, the simple calculations using non-biological lubricants should not be relied upon in the design of orthopaedic bearing surfaces. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)209-213
Number of pages5
JournalWear
Volume241
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2000

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank EPSRC for supplying the Zygo NewView profilometer and funding for this project and Biomet for further funding of this research. CeramTec supplied the alumina-on-alumina prostheses for testing.

Keywords

  • Artificial hip joints
  • Friction
  • Lubricants

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Surfaces and Interfaces
  • Surfaces, Coatings and Films
  • Materials Chemistry

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The effects of material combination and lubricant on the friction of total hip prostheses'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this