Dynamic Contact Stress and Rolling Resistance Model for Total Knee Arthroplasties

Problems associated with premature failure of total knee replacements (TKR’s) include: wear, creep, and oxidation of ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHM-WPe) as well as adverse tissue reactions to polyethylene wear debris. These problems are associated in part with the mechanical behavior of UHMWPe. In TKR’s, contact stress analyses have been performed on the UHMWPe tibial component; however, most have employed simplified material properties and not accounted for joint kinematics. A nonlinear viscoelastic rolling model was developed for TKR’s to predict the contact stress and rolling friction for varying rolling speed, conformity, applied load, and tibial plateau thickness. Results indicated that the contact stress increased and rolling friction decreased with increasing rolling speed. Effects of conformity, applied load, and tibial plateau thickness were consistent with previous models. At large rolling speeds, predicted peak contact stresses were almost twice their static value, resulting in a compound fatigue problem in UHMWPe components due to normal cyclic loading, moving point of contact, and velocity-dependent stresses.