Evaluation of Individual Fiber Wear Resistance Using Accelerated Life Testing

摘要

Three-dimensional woven materials have recently been suggested as cartilage replacements due to their advantageous mechanical properties. Interfiber abrasion is important for the longevity of the implant as well as the minimization of wear debris. Due to the large material design space, a rapid screening process is desired to identify fibers with high abrasion resistance. A potential screening process is explored by direct wear investigation of orthogonal fibers. Wear volumes, wear coefficients, and debris morphology are investigated for polyester (PET), poly-ether ether ketone (PEEK), titanium, nylon, and ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers. A novel test apparatus was developed to allow direct observation of fiber-fiber wear. Wear coefficients were found to be dependent on translating fiber material and were used to deduce a relative ranking of abrasion resistance. This method shows potential for distinguishing preferred fiber pairings for cartilage replacements and provides valuable information about debris formation.