In-vitro tribological study and submodeling finite element technique in analyzing wear of zirconia toughened alumina against alumina with bio-lubricants for hip implants
S. Shankar, R. Nithyaprakash, Ghulam Abbas, R. Naveen Kumar, Alokesh Pramanik, Animesh Kumar Basak, Chander Prakash
Abstract
Tribological study of zirconia toughened alumina against alumina is investigated using ball-on-disk tribometer with different bio-lubricants. Friction and wear coefficients are estimated for these bio-lubricants under four different loading conditions which are equivalent to regular and risky human gait activities. Experiments are carried out for a total sliding distance of 10 km with each bio-lubricant to estimate its friction and wear coefficients. Using submodeling finite element approach, cumulative linear and volumetric wear is estimated with the help of contact pressure. The sesame oil bio-lubricant showed better wear coefficient for risky gait activities and Ringer's solution exhibited minimum wear coefficient for normal walking gait activity. Overall minimum cumulative linear and volumetric wear for 2 million cycles was obtained for Ringer's solution.