Third-body effects appear to be responsible for an appreciable portion of the wear rate variability within cohorts of patients with metal-on-polyethylene joint replacements. The parameters dominating the rate of polyethylene debris liberation by counterface scratches are not fully understood, but one seemingly contributory factor is the scratch’s orientation relative to the direction of instantaneous local surface sliding. To study this influence, arrays of 550 straight parallel scratches each representative of the severe end of the clinical range were diamond stylus-ruled onto the surface of polished stainless steel plates. These ruled plates were then worn reciprocally against polyethylene pins (both conventional and highly cross-linked) at traverse angles varied parametrically relative to the scratch direction. Wear was measured gravimetrically, and particulate debris was harvested and morphologically characterized. Both of the polyethylene variants tested showed pronounced wear rate peaks at acute scratch traverse angles ( for conventional and for cross-linked), and had nominally comparable absolute wear rate magnitudes. The particulate debris from this very aggressive test regime primarily consisted of extremely large and elongated strands, often tens or even hundreds of microns in length. These data suggest that counterface damage regions with preferential scratch directionality can liberate large amounts of polyethylene debris, apparently by a slicing/shearing mechanism, at critical (acute) attack angles. However, the predominant manifestation of this wear volume was in the form of particles far beyond the most osteolytically potent size range.
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October 2008
Research Papers
Sliding Direction Dependence of Polyethylene Wear for Metal Counterface Traverse of Severe Scratches
Liam P. Glennon,
Liam P. Glennon
Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation,and Department of Biomedical Engineering,
University of Iowa
, Iowa City, IA 52242
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Thomas E. Baer,
Thomas E. Baer
Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation,
University of Iowa
, Iowa City, IA 52242
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James A. Martin, Ph.D.,
James A. Martin, Ph.D.
Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation,
University of Iowa
, Iowa City, IA 52242
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William D. Lack,
William D. Lack
Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation,and Department of Biomedical Engineering,
University of Iowa
, Iowa City, IA 52242
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Thomas D. Brown, Ph.D.
Thomas D. Brown, Ph.D.
Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, and Department of Biomedical Engineering,
e-mail: tom-brown@uiowa.edu
University of Iowa
, Iowa City, IA 52242
Search for other works by this author on:
Liam P. Glennon
Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation,and Department of Biomedical Engineering,
University of Iowa
, Iowa City, IA 52242
Thomas E. Baer
Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation,
University of Iowa
, Iowa City, IA 52242
James A. Martin, Ph.D.
Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation,
University of Iowa
, Iowa City, IA 52242
William D. Lack
Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation,and Department of Biomedical Engineering,
University of Iowa
, Iowa City, IA 52242
Thomas D. Brown, Ph.D.
Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, and Department of Biomedical Engineering,
University of Iowa
, Iowa City, IA 52242e-mail: tom-brown@uiowa.edu
J Biomech Eng. Oct 2008, 130(5): 051006 (7 pages)
Published Online: July 14, 2008
Article history
Received:
August 8, 2005
Revised:
April 17, 2008
Published:
July 14, 2008
Citation
Glennon, L. P., Baer, T. E., Martin, J. A., Lack, W. D., and Brown, T. D. (July 14, 2008). "Sliding Direction Dependence of Polyethylene Wear for Metal Counterface Traverse of Severe Scratches." ASME. J Biomech Eng. October 2008; 130(5): 051006. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2947157
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