Abstract
Pitting wear is a dominant form of polyethylene surface damage in total knee replacements, and may originate from surface cracks that propagate under repeated tribological contact. In this study, stress intensity factors, K_Ⅰ and K_Ⅱ' were calculated for a surface crack in a polyethylene - CoCr - bone system under the<br/> rolling and/or sliding contact pressures. Crack length and load location were considered in determination of probable crack propagation mechanisms and fracture modes. Positive K_Ⅰ values were obtained for shorter cracks in rolling contact and for all crack lengths when the sliding load was apart from the crack. K_Ⅱ was the greatest when the load was directly adjacent to the crack (g/a=± 1). Sliding friction caused a substantial increase of both K_Ⅰmax and K_Ⅱmax . The effective Mode I stress intensity factors, K_eff, were the greatest at g/a=± 1, showing the significance of high shear stresses generated by loads adjacent to surface cracks. Such behavior of Kerr suggests mechanisms for surface pitting by which surface cracks may propagate along their original plane under repeated rolling or sliding contact.<br/>
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