MAE 493N/593T
Dr. Konstantinos A. Sierros
West Virginia University
Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
ESB Annex 263
kostas.sierros@mail.wvu.edu
Biotribology
• Introduction
• Examples
• Artificial joints
‐Surfaces
‐Friction
‐Lubrication
‐Wear
• Gecko effect
• Diatoms
Biotribology
Biotribology: Tribological phenomena occurring in either the human body or in
animals and possibly plants
Biotribology
Tribological processes naturally Tribological processes that may
occurring in or on the tissues and occur after implantation of
organs of animals artificial device in human body
Biotribology‐Examples
EXAMPLES
•Wear of skin and its replacement by new skin cells
• Lubricated sliding of eyelids over the eye
• Wear of orthopaedic implants
‐Artificial hips
‐Artificial knees
‐Synovial joint lubrication
http://www.ocw.cn/NR/rdonlyres/Biological‐Engineering/20‐441Fall‐
2003/6E544DF6‐4361‐46B0‐B9A9‐A74F2B171A03/0/chp_artificial_hip.jpg
Other examples
• Wear of dentures
• Friction of skin and garments, affecting the comfort of clothes, socks and shoes
• Tribology of contact lenses
• Wear of replacement heart valves
• Lubrication of pump in total artificial hearts
• Wear of screws and plates in bone fracture repair
• Lubrication in pericardium and pleural surfaces
The pericardium is the thin
sac enclosing the heart
http://www.finejewelrydesigns.com/images/pleura‐
pericardium‐chart.jpg
Tribology of artificial joints
•Long term issue: Loosening of the joint caused by osteolysis and adverse tissue
reactions to wear debris in artificial joints
• Osteolysis refers to an active resorption of bone matrix
• Biological reactions depend on
‐Size of wear particles
‐Worn volume
• Example: In hip implants where metal‐on‐metal bearings are used the size of
wear debris is generally much smaller than polyethylene‐on‐metal contact
Tribology of artificial joints
• Smoothest bearing surface for artificial joints is usually found on ceramics
(0.005 μm)
• Metallic bearing surfaces: 0.01 μm
Average roughness
Rα
‐ Arithmetical mean
deviation
‐ Centre line average
Tribology of artificial joints
• A comparison of the Rα is shown in the table below
Tribology of artificial joints
• Typical roughness values for bearing surfaces used in artificial hip joints are
presented below;
Rα = (R α _ head ) + (R
2
α _ cup )
2 Composite surface roughness
Tribology of artificial joints
• Friction: Resistance to motion
• Remember laws of friction:
1. Friction force is directly proportional to applied load Amontons (1699)
2. Friction force is independent of apparent area of contact
3. Friction force is independent of sliding speed Coulomb (1785)
Tribology of artificial joints
• Friction coefficient depends strongly on nature of bearing surfaces in the
presence of biological lubricants and is different from the values listed
previously
• Early hip replacements by Sir John Charnley utilized PTFE (Teflon) but failed
very quickly because of wear
• Early hip implants based on metal‐on‐metal also failed very quickly due to
equatorial contact which resulted in high friction and high frictional torque
Tribology of artificial joints
• Frictional force at the interface between the outside of the acetabular cup
and the cement (or bone)
μWR1
F=
R2
• In order to reduce the probability of interface failure is important to minimize
the stress transmitted at the interface by;
‐ Reducing the friction coefficient μ
‐ Reducing the femoral head radius R1
Tribology of artificial joints
• Frictional testing is conducted using a simulator
• Single‐station servo‐hydraulic machine
• Controlled by a PC
• 3D loading and motion patterns
Tribology of artificial joints
• Measured frictional torque T is used to calculate the friction factor f
• Friction factor is used to compare the effect of different variables such as;
‐ Material combination
‐ Implant size and design
‐ Lubricant T
‐ Load and motion profiles f =
R1W
dimensionless
parameter
• Some of the above parameters are combined to form the Sommerfeld number
z
nuR1 n is lubricant viscosity
z= u is entraining velocity of bearing surfaces
W
Tribology of artificial joints
• Friction factors associated with different lubrication regimes are shown below
• Variation of friction factor f vs Sommerfeld number z can be plotted
Tribology of artificial joints
• Variation of friction factor f vs Sommerfeld number z
• Stribeck curve (Stribeck 1920s)
T
f =
R1W
nuR1
z=
W
Tribology of artificial joints
• Typical friction factors in various hip joints are shown below;
T
f =
R1W
Tribology of artificial joints
• Lubrication regimes
Tribology of artificial joints
• Fluid film lubrication is needed in order to minimize wear
• However, wear cannot be fully eliminated even with fluid film lubrication due
to erosion and fatigue
• Assessment of lubrication mechanism in artificial joints
‐ Experimental measurements
‐ Theoretical predictions
• Experimental measurements
‐ Friction measurements related to Stribeck plot
‐ Detection of bearing surface separation by electrical resistance
measurements (metal‐on‐metal cases) – For insulating surfaces a conductive
coating is needed
• Theoretical predictions
‐ Based on the λ ratio
Tribology of artificial joints
• Theoretical predictions
‐ Based on the λ ratio
hmin hmin
λ= =
Rα [
(Ra _ head ) + (Ra _ cup )
2
]
2 1/ 2
• Rα must be measured accurately
• hmin (fluid film thickness) must be predicted as accurately as possible
0.65 −0.21
hmin ⎛ nu ⎞ ⎛ W ⎞
= 2.8⎜ ' ⎟ ⎜ ' 2⎟
R ⎝E R⎠ ⎝ER ⎠
R is equivalent radius
E’ is elastic modulus
Tribology of artificial joints
ωd
u= d is femoral head diameter
4 cd is clearance between head and cup
0.65 −0.21
hmin ⎛ nu ⎞ ⎛ W ⎞
= 2.8⎜ ' ⎟ ⎜ ' 2⎟
R ⎝E R⎠ ⎝ER ⎠
d (d + cd ) d ⎛ d ⎞ ⎡ 1 − vhead
2
1 − v 2
⎤
E = 2 /⎢ +
cup
⎥
'
R= = ⎜⎜1 + ⎟⎟
2cd 2 ⎝ cd ⎠ ⎢⎣ Ehead Ecup ⎥⎦
Tribology of artificial joints
Example
λ ratio for UHMWPE‐on‐metal is 0.025‐0.62 (less than 1)
Tribology of artificial joints
• Wear is progressive loss of material from the operating surface as a result of
relative motion
• Wear is important because It is related to;
‐ Decreased function of the component
‐ Component replacement cost
‐ Adverse effects of wear particles (Adverse tissue reactions, osteolysis,
loosening)
WEAR
• Abrasive
• Adhesive Mechanical action Wear types may occur simultaneously
• Fatigue or sequentially
• Erosive Chemical action
Tribology of artificial joints
• Wear assessment of total replacement hip joints
‐ Pin‐on‐disc machines (steady‐state load, sliding speed, environment)
‐ Pin‐on‐plate machines (reciprocating movement of hip joint)
‐ Joint simulators (3D loading and motion pattern simulation)
Tribology of artificial joints
Tribology of artificial joints
• UHMWPE‐on‐metal: Lubrication regime is predominantly boundary
lubrication
• Metal‐on‐metal: Mixed lubrication regime
Gecko effect
• Gecko is an animal that can rapidly climb up vertical smooth surfaces (such as
glass) and ceilings
• The Gecko foot has about 14400 hairs (setae)/mm2 as revealed by
microscopy
• These hairs are covered with even smaller projections (hundreds of nm in
diameter)
• Adhesive force of single Gecko foot‐hair is 600‐fold greater than that of
frictional measurements of the material
• Highly oriented setae reduce the detachment force of the foot by simply
detaching above a critical angle with the opposing surface
• Adhesion force in the Gecko is mediated via van der Waals interactions
• Gecko foot also exhibits self‐cleaning properties
• Self‐cleaning of Gecko setae is a result of geometry and not chemistry
Gecko effect
Diatom tribology
• Diatoms are unicellular microalgea with a cell wall consisting of a siliceous
skeleton enveloped by a thin organic case
• Cell walls of each diatom form a pill‐box like structure consisting of two parts
that fit within each other like a shoebox
• They vary greatly in shape ranging from box shaped to cylindrical
• They can be symmetrical or non‐symmetrical
• They can serve as models for micro/nano tribological investigations
Diatom tribology
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO5MPaIbS9U
References
G. Stachowiak, A. Batchelor, Engineering Tribology, 3rd Edition, Elsevier, 2005
Z. M. Jin et al, Biotribology, Current Orthopaedics (2006) 20, 32‐40
D. Dowson, V. Wright, Introduction to the biomechanics of joints and joint replacements
London: mechanical Engineering Publications Ltd; 1981
I. Gebeshuber, Biotribology inspires new technologies, Nanotoday (2007) 2, 30‐37
I. Gebeshuber et al, Tribology in biology, Tribology (2008) 2, 200‐212
Summary
• Introduction
• Examples
• Artificial joints
‐Surfaces
‐Friction
‐Lubrication
‐Wear
• Gecko effect
• Diatoms