Comparative characteristics of various friction pairs used for the hip arthroplasty

Purpose. A comparative evaluation of the tribological characteristics of various friction pairs used for the hip arthroplasty. Materials and Methods. 16 pairs of friction of the hip arthroplasty implants from different manufacturers (metal-polyethylene, metal-metal, oxinium-polyethylene, aluminum ceramics-polyethylene, zirconium ceramics-polyethylene, aluminum ceramics-metal) studied under dry friction and biological environment conditions. Results. The strength of adhesive bonds, as well as the friction coefficient in the samples with a polyethylene liner was high for dry friction and reduced under biological environment conditions. As for the samples with a metal liner, the friction coefficient reached maximum values in biological environment and reduced for dry friction. In terms of tribological characteristics, “oxinium-polyethylene” and “aluminum ceramics-polyethylene” with 32-mm screw head diameter, appeared to be optimal kinematic units which demonstrated the minimum friction coefficient (0.009... 0.010), the least strength of adhesive bonds (0.2 MPa), and the lowest coefficient of strengthening these bonds (0.006... 0.008). Conclusion. The knowledge of the range of operational sorts of the implant kinematic units allows to make a grounded choice of arthroplasty technology based on studying the adhesion interactions of friction pairs that may be one of the key factors of increasing the construct’s lifetime.