Influence of Counterface Topography on the Wear of Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene Under Wet or Dry Conditions

Wear simulation of UHMWPE for total hip replacement with a multidirectional motion pin-on-disk device: Effects of counterface material, contact area, and lubricant

“…Realistic wear simulation has proved to be difficult to produce, especially with simple devices. [1][2][3][4] A new wear test method must first be validated using established materials for which the clinical reference wear rates, wear factors, and wear mechanisms are known. Only after successful validation can the test method be assumed to produce reliable wear predictions for new candidate materials.…”

Surface structure of retrieved ICLH femoral cups

“…In an in vitro study, McKellop et al (1981) reported increasing wear of polyethylene cups with increasing surface roughness of ceramic femoral heads. Dowson et al (1985) likewise found, in another in vitro study, an increased wear rate of the polyethylene cup due to greater surface roughness of femoral stainless steel heads, which, with time, could result in penetration of the head into the acetabular socket. Isaac et al (1987) suggested that barium sulfate and zirconium dioxide in the cement were responsible for the increased sur- face roughness of the femoral stainless steel head which resulted in greater wear of the acetabular cup.…”

Chapter 8 Wear

“…k is widely used for comparative purposes (mm 3 /Nm) • According to Dowson [19], if the mean contact stresses are not too high the wear of polymer against a hard surface (metal or ceramic) is obtained with fair accuracy with the relationship V = kFL • K is directly influenced by the roughness average (Ra) of the metallic counterface for the contact UHMWPE-stainless steel in water under reciprocating pin-on-plate conditions given by the relationship k = 4.0 × 10 −5 Ra 1.2 [20] biomaterials should be designed to assess or predict their behavior in simulated clinical conditions [21].…”