Hysteresis measurement for characterising the dynamic fatigue of textile artificial ligaments

摘要

A new fatigue tester simulating the movement of the knee is designed and developed in this paper. This fatigue tester allows us to combine simultaneously cyclic solicitations: bending-traction and twist. The objective of the investigation is to determine the dynamic fatigue behaviour of braided ligaments made of polypropylene by using hysteresis measurement. The combined cyclic solicitations generate new mechanical properties expressed by hysteresis loop of the braided structure. The hysteresis loop supplies energy dissipation depending on the number of cycles and sample preconditioning. The new behaviour of the solicited braid and the residual deformation is discussed.