A preliminary experimental investigation on the biotribocorrosion of a metal-on-polyethylene hip prosthesis in a hip simulator

Shu YANG; Jian PU; Xiaogang ZHANG; Yali ZHANG; Wen CUI; Fengbao XIE; Weiping LU; Qin TAN; Zhongmin JIN

doi:10.1007/s40544-022-0655-0

Friction 2023, 11(6): 1094-1106 https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-022-0655-0

Research Article |

Open Access | Issue | Published: 02 September 2022

A preliminary experimental investigation on the biotribocorrosion of a metal-on-polyethylene hip prosthesis in a hip simulator

Show Author's Information Hide Author's Information Shu YANG^{¹^,²}, Jian PU^¹, Xiaogang ZHANG^¹(

), Yali ZHANG^¹, Wen CUI^¹, Fengbao XIE^², Weiping LU^¹, Qin TAN^¹, Zhongmin JIN^{¹^,³}

1 Tribology Research Institute, School of Mechanical Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China

2 Beijing Chunlizhengda Medical Instruments Co., Ltd., Beijing 101100, China

3 School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK

Keywords:

biotribocorrosion, metal-on-polyethylene (MoP), adsorbed protein layer, total hip replacement (THR)

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YANG S, PU J, ZHANG X, et al. A preliminary experimental investigation on the biotribocorrosion of a metal-on-polyethylene hip prosthesis in a hip simulator. Friction, 2023, 11(6): 1094-1106. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40544-022-0655-0

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Abstract

Corrosion at the taper/trunnion interface of total hip replacement (THR) often results in severe complications. However, the underlying mechanisms of biotribocorrosion at the taper/trunnion interface during the long-term walking gait cycles remain to be fully understood. In this study, a hip joint simulator was therefore instrumented with an electrochemical cell for in-situ monitoring of the tribocorrosion evolution in a metal-on-polyethylene (MoP) THR during a typical long-term walking gait. In addition, the biotribocorrosion mechanism was investigated via surface and chemical characterizations. The experimental results confirmed that the taper/trunnion interface dominated the contemporary MoP hip joint corrosion. Three cyclic variations in the open circuit potential (OCP) were observed throughout the long-term electrochemical measurements, attributed to the formation and disruption of the adsorbed protein layer. The corrosion exhibited an initial increase at each period, peaking at approximately 0.125 million cycles, followed by a subsequent gradual reduction. Surface and chemical analyses revealed the formation of a tribochemical reaction layer (tribolayer) on the worn surface of the taper/trunnion interface. The surface/chemical characterizations and the electrochemical measurements indicated that the adhesion force of the adsorbed protein layer was weaker than that of the tribolayer. In contrast, the opposite was true for the corrosion resistance. Based on the observations from this study, the tribocorrosion mechanism of the taper/trunnion interface under the long-term walking gait cycles is deduced.

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A preliminary experimental investigation on the biotribocorrosion of a metal-on-polyethylene hip prosthesis in a hip simulator

Show Author's information Hide Author's Information Shu YANG^{¹^,²}, Jian PU^¹, Xiaogang ZHANG^¹(

), Yali ZHANG^¹, Wen CUI^¹, Fengbao XIE^², Weiping LU^¹, Qin TAN^¹, Zhongmin JIN^{¹^,³}

1 Tribology Research Institute, School of Mechanical Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China

2 Beijing Chunlizhengda Medical Instruments Co., Ltd., Beijing 101100, China

3 School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK

Abstract

Keywords: biotribocorrosion, metal-on-polyethylene (MoP), adsorbed protein layer, total hip replacement (THR)

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Publication history

Received: 07 November 2021

Revised: 17 April 2022

Accepted: 23 May 2022

Published: 02 September 2022

Issue date: June 2023

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52035012), the Science and Technology Planning Project of Sichuan Province (2020YJ0032), and the 111 Project (B20008).

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