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Comparative ageing behaviour of commercial, unworn and worn 3Y-TZP and zirconia-toughened alumina hip joint heads.

Douillard, T.; Chevalier, J.; Descamps-Mandine, A.; Warner, I.; Galais, Y.; Whitaker, P.; Wu, J.J.; Wang, Q.Q.

Authors

T. Douillard

J. Chevalier

A. Descamps-Mandine

I. Warner

Y. Galais

P. Whitaker

Profile image of Junjie Wu

Junjie Wu junjie.wu@durham.ac.uk
Honorary Professor

Q.Q. Wang



Abstract

There is a trend today to develop zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA) composites for orthopaedic applications. So far, there is limited data concerning their sensitivity to ageing, especially considering tests performed on implants produced on an industrial scale. Here, complementary tools were used to assess the ageing resistance of ZTA femoral heads. The results were compared to femoral heads processed under the same industrial process with monolithic 3Y-TZP. As expected, monolithic 3Y-TZP implants exhibited significant ageing. In contrast ZTA femoral head showed no sign of degradation even over a period equivalent to that of a human life. The potential impact of coupling effects between wear and ageing is assessed. Monolithic zirconia and ZTA femoral heads were thus first worn in a hip joint simulator, and then aged in autoclave. The kinetics of transformation of the worn monolithic zirconia implants is accelerated while that of worn ZTA femoral heads remains almost unchanged.

Citation

Douillard, T., Chevalier, J., Descamps-Mandine, A., Warner, I., Galais, Y., Whitaker, P., …Wang, Q. (2012). Comparative ageing behaviour of commercial, unworn and worn 3Y-TZP and zirconia-toughened alumina hip joint heads. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 32(8), 1529-1540. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2012.01.003

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 7, 2012
Online Publication Date Feb 1, 2012
Publication Date 2012-07
Deposit Date Feb 2, 2012
Journal Journal of the European Ceramic Society
Print ISSN 0955-2219
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 32
Issue 8
Pages 1529-1540
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2012.01.003
Keywords Lifetime, Al2O3, ZrO2, Biomedical applications, Composites.
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1508177