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Peak stress intensity factor governs crack propagation velocity in crosslinked ultrahigh‐molecular‐weight polyethylene
Author(s) -
Sirimamilla Abhiram,
Furmanski Jevan,
Rimnac Clare
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of biomedical materials research part b: applied biomaterials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.665
H-Index - 108
eISSN - 1552-4981
pISSN - 1552-4973
DOI - 10.1002/jbm.b.32850
Subject(s) - materials science , fracture mechanics , stress intensity factor , composite material , crack closure , polyethylene , paris' law , quasistatic process , stress (linguistics) , intensity (physics) , linguistics , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics
Ultrahigh‐molecular‐weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) has been successfully used as a bearing material in total joint replacement components. However, these bearing materials can fail as a result of in vivo static and cyclic loads. Crack propagation behavior in this material has been considered using the Paris relationship which relates fatigue crack growth rate, d a /d N (mm/cycle) versus the stress intensity factor range, Δ K ( K max − K min , MPa√m). However, recent work suggests that the crack propagation velocity of conventional UHMWPE is driven by the peak stress intensity ( K max ), not Δ K . The hypothesis of this study is that the crack propagation velocity of highly crosslinked and remelted UHMWPE is also driven by the peak stress intensity, K max , during cyclic loading. To test this hypothesis, two highly crosslinked (65 kGy and 100 kGy) and remelted UHMWPE materials were examined. Frequency, waveform, and R ‐ratio were varied between test conditions to determine the governing factor for fatigue crack propagation. It was found that the crack propagation velocity in crosslinked UHMWPE is also driven by K max and not Δ K , and is dependent on loading waveform and frequency in a predictable quasistatic manner. This study supports that crack growth in crosslinked UHMWPE materials, even under cyclic loading conditions, can be described by a relationship between the velocity of crack growth, d a /d t and the peak stress intensity, K max . The findings suggest that stable crack propagation can occur as a result of static loading only and this should be taken into consideration in design of UHMWPE total joint replacement components. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater, 101B: 430–435, 2013.