Prediction of plastic strains in ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene due to microscopic asperity interactions during sliding wear

Abstract

Studies of explanted femoral heads have shown that scratches caused by bone cement, bone or metallic particles are present on the rubbing surface. This damage has been cited as a cause of increased wear of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) acetabular cups and it is known that the particulate wear debris produced leads to osteolysis. A series of explanted Charnley femoral heads have been surface characterized using a Talysurf 6 profilometer and found to have scratches with lip heights in the size range 0.1–3.25 μm with an average height of 1 μm giving an average aspect ratio (defined as height/half-width) of 0.1. These geometries were incorporated into a finite element model of a stainless steel asperity sliding over UHMWPE under conditions similar to those in an artificial hip system. It was found that as the aspect ratio of the asperity lip increased, the plastic strains both on and below the surface of the UHMWPE increased non-linearly, but that the magnitude of the strain was independent of the asperity height. The asperity aspect ratio was also found to affect the position of the maximum sub-surface strain, as the asperity aspect ratio was increased the maximum strain rose to the surface. The high plastic strains predicted offer an explanation for the highly elevated wear rates in scratched counterface tests and the aspect ratio of scratch lips is therefore a critical determinant of plastic strain.