The influence of nominal stress on wear factors of carbon fibre–reinforced polyetheretherketone (PEEK-OPTIMA® Wear Performance) against zirconia toughened alumina (Biolox®delta ceramic). (June 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Evans, Andrew; Horton, Henrietta; Unsworth, Anthony; Briscoe, Adam
• Is Part Of: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Volume 228:Number 6(2014:Jun.)
• Page Start: 587
• Page End: 592
• Publication Date: 2014-06
• Subjects: Wear analysis/testing -- bio-composites -- biomaterials -- tribology of materials; Biomedical engineering -- Periodicals; Medical instruments and apparatus -- Periodicals; 610.28
• DOI: 10.1177/0954411914538783
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0954-4119

Abstract

Carbon fibre–reinforced polyetheretherketone is an attractive alternative to ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene in artificial joints, but little has been published on the influence of stress on the wear factor. We know that in ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene, the wear factor reduces as the normal stress increases, which is counter-intuitive but very helpful in the case of non-conforming contacts. In this study, carbon fibre–reinforced polyetheretherketone (PEEK-OPTIMA ® Wear Performance) has been investigated in a pin-on-plate machine under steady loads and under stresses typical of hip and knee joints. At stresses below about 6 MPa, wear factors are between 10 and a 100 times lower than for ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene but at higher stresses the wear factors increase substantially.