Implantation of a total hip replacements (THR) is an effective intervention in the management of arthritis. Modularity at the taper junction of THR was introduced in order to improve the ease with which the surgeon could modify the length of the taper section and the overall length of the replacement. Cobalt chromium (Co–28Cr–6Mo) and titanium (Ti–6Al–4V) alloys are the most commonly used materials for the device. This study investigates the fretting behaviour of both CoCr–CoCr and CoCr–Ti couplings and analyses their damage mechanisms. A reciprocating tribometer ball on plate fretting contact was instrumented with in situ electrochemistry to characterise the damage inflicted by tribocorrosion on the two couplings. Fretting displacements amplitudes of 10, 25 and 50 μm at an initial contact pressure of 1 GPa were assessed. The results reveal larger metallic volume loss from the CoCr–CoCr alloy compared to the CoCr–Ti alloy, and the open circuit potential indicates a depassivation of the protective oxide layer at displacement amplitudes >25 μm. In conclusion, the damage mechanisms of CoCr–CoCr and CoCr–Ti fretting contacts were identified to be wear and fatigue dominated mechanisms respectively.
DowsonD. and WrightV.: ‘Introduction to the biomechanics of joints and joint replacements’
vol. 1;1981, United Kingdom, Wiley-Blackwell.
2.
KnightS. R., AujlaR. and BiswasS. P.: ‘Total hip arthroplasty—over 100 years of operative history’, Orthop. Rev., 2011, 3, (2)
3.
GruppT. M., WeikT., BloemerW. and KnaebelH.-P.: ‘Modular titanium alloy neck adapter failures in hip replacement—failure mode analysis and influence of implant material’, BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 2010, 1, (3)
4.
BaxmannM. J., SchillingS. Y., BlomerC., GruppW. and MorlockT. M.: ‘The influence of contact conditions and micromotions on the fretting behavior of modular titanium alloy taper connections’, Med. Eng. Phys., 2013, 35, (5), 676–683.
5.
SwaminathanV. and GilbertJ. L.: ‘Fretting corrosion of CoCrMo and Ti6Al4V interfaces’, Biomaterials, 2012, 33, (22), 5487–5503.
6.
GilbertJ. L., MehtaM. and PinderB.: ‘Fretting crevice corrosion of stainless steel stem-CoCr femoral head connections: comparisons of materials, initial moisture, and offset length’, J. Biomed. Mater. Res. B Appl. Biomater., 2009, 88, (1), 162–173.
7.
GilbertJ. L., BuckleyC. A. and JacobsJ. J.: ‘In vivo corrosion of modular hip prosthesis components in mixed and similar metal combinations. The effect of crevice, stress, motion, and alloy coupling’, J. Biomed. Mater. Res., 1993, 27, (12), 1533–1544.
8.
KurtzS., OngK., LauE., MowatF. and HalpernM.: ‘Projections of primary and revision hip and knee arthroplasty in the United States from 2005 to 2030’, J. Bone Joint Surg., 2007, 89, (4), 780–785.
9.
CookS. D., BarrackRobert L., BaffesG. C., ClemowA. J. T., SerekianP., DongN. and KesterM. A.: ‘Wear and corrosion of modular interfaces in total hip replacements’, Clin. Orthop. Relat. Res., 1994, 298, 80–88.
10.
CooperH. J., ., ‘Corrosion at the head-neck taper as a cause for adverse local tissue reactions after total hip arthroplasty’, J. Bone Joint Surg., 2012, 94, (18)
11.
GillI. P. S., WebbJ., SloanK. and BeaverR. J.: ‘Corrosion at the neck-stem junction as a cause of metal ion release and pseudotumour formation’, J. Bone Joint Surg., 2012, 94, (7), 895–900.
12.
SkendzelJ. G., BlahaJ. D. and UrquhartA. G.: ‘Total hip arthroplasty modular neck failure’, J. Arthroplasty, 2011, 26, (2), 338e1–338e4.
13.
WassefA. J. and SchmalzriedT. P.: ‘Femoral taperosis: an accident waiting to happen’, Bone Joint J., 2013, 95-B, (3-6)
14.
BrownS. A., FlemmingC. A. C., KawalecJ. S., PlackoH. E., VassauxC., MerrittK. and PayerJ. H.: ‘Fretting corrosion accelerates crevice corrosion of modular hip tapers’, J. Appl. Biomater., 1995, 6, (1), 19–26.
15.
ZhangT., HarrisonN. M., McDonnellP. F., McHughP. E. and LeenS. B.: ‘A finite element methodology for wear–fatigue analysis for modular hip implants’, Tribol. Int., 2013, 65, 113–127.
16.
BarrilS., MischlerS. and LandoltD.: ‘Influence of fretting regimes on the tribocorrosion behaviour of Ti6Al4V in 0.9 wt.% sodium chloride solution’, Wear, 2004, 256, (9), 963–972.
17.
VicecontiM., BaleaniM., SquarzoniS. and TonilA.: ‘Fretting wear in a modular neck hip prosthesis’, J. Biomed. Mater. Res., 1997, 35, (2), 207–216.
18.
VingsboO. and SchönJ.: ‘Gross slip criteria in fretting’, Wear, 1993, 162, 347–356.
19.
FouvryS., Philippe Kapsa and Leo Vincent: ‘Quantification of fretting damage’, Wear, 1996, 200, (1), 186–205.
20.
VingsboO. and SoderbergS.: ‘On fretting maps’, Wear, 1988, 126, 131–147.
21.
DuisabeauL., CombradeP. and ForestB.: ‘Environmental effect on fretting of metallic materials for orthopaedic implants’, Wear, 2004, 256, (7–8), 805–816.
22.
FouvryS., KapsaPh. and VincentL.: ‘Analysis of sliding behaviour for fretting loadings: determination of transition criteria’, Wear, 1995, 185, (1), 35–46.
23.
LgriedM., LiskiewiczT. and NevilleA.: ‘Electrochemical investigation of corrosion and wear interactions under fretting conditions’, Wear, 2012, 282, 52–58.
24.
MutohY.: ‘Mechanisms of fretting fatigue’, JSME Int. J. Ser. A Mech. Mater. Eng., 1995, 38, (4), 405–415.
25.
GoldbergJ. R. and GilbertJ. L.: ‘Electrochemical response of Cocrmo to high-speed fracture of its metal oxide using an electrochemical scratch test method’, 421–431; 1997, John Wiley & Sons.
26.
RevieR. W.: ‘Thermodynamics: corrosion tendency and electrode potentials, in Corrosion and corrosion control: an introduction to corrosion science and engineering’, 2000, New York, John Wiley and Sons.
27.
HiromotoS. and MischlerS.: ‘The influence of proteins on the fretting–corrosion behaviour of a Ti6Al4V alloy’, Wear, 2006, 261, (9), 1002–1011.
28.
MischlerS., DebaudS. and LandoltD.: ‘Wear-accelerated corrosion of passive metals in tribocorrosion systems.’, J. Electrochem. Soc., 1998, 145, (3), 750–758.
29.
TritschlerB., ForestB. and RieuJ.: ‘Fretting corrosion of materials for orthopaedic implants: a study of a metal/polymer contact in an artificial physiological medium’, Tribol. Int., 1999, 32(10).
30.
BryantM., HuX., FarrarR., BrummittK., FreemanR. and NevilleA.: ‘Crevice corrosion of biomedical alloys: a novel method of assessing the effects of bone cement and its chemistry’, Biomed. Mater. Res. B Appl. Biomater., 2013, 101, (5), 792–803.
31.
YanY.: ‘Corrosion and tribo-corrosion behaviour of metallic orthopaedic implant material’, 2006, Leeds, University of Leeds.
32.
HeskethJ.: ‘Tribocorrosion of total hip replacements’, 2012, Leeds, School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds.
33.
BryantM., FarrarR., BrummittK., FreemanR. and NevilleA.: ‘Fretting corrosion of fully cemented polished collarless tapered stems: the influence of PMMA bone cement’, Wear, 2013, 301, (1), 290–299.
HanawaT.: ‘Metal ion release from metal implants’, Mater. Sci. Eng. C, 2004, 24, (6–8), 745–752.
36.
JauchS. Y., HuberG., HoenigE., BaxmannM., GruppT. M. and MorlockM. M.: ‘Influence of material coupling and assembly condition on the magnitude of micromotion at the stem–neck interface of a modular hip endoprosthesis’, J. Biomech., 2011, 44, (9), 1747–1751.
37.
JauchS. Y., ., ‘Design parameters and the material coupling are decisive for the micromotion magnitude at the stem-neck interface of bi-modular hip implants’, Med. Eng. Phys., 2013.
