The biomechanical behaviour of titanium (Ti-6Al-7Nb) implant reinforced fractured humeri under bending loads will be considered. The major aim of any technique concerning the fixation of fractured limbs is to achieve instantaneous and almost full function of the injured segment and to reach rapid rehabilitation of the patient, respectively. For temporary mechanical support of the fracture and under specific respect to less invasive surgery, intramedullary nailing techniques can be regarded as a practical compromise concerning the demand for minimum trauma and the goal for almost full and immediate postoperative function of the injured limb. Therefore, in order to achieve high mechanical stability and to avoid soft tissue damage as well, a specific intramedullary titanium nailing system (Ti-6Al-7Nb) was designed for the stabilisation of subcapital humeral fractures. The approach of this paper is the investigation of the biomechanical behaviour of this prototype titanium nailing system by finite element modelling and additional verification of the results obtained by laboratory experiments. Although, most functional loading in life can be regarded as a superposition of bending and torsional forces, special emphasis will be focused on the fixation potential under bending loads. Additionally, the corresponding stress distribution in the implant at the transitions of the nail-humerus-compound (locking bolts) will be reported. Finally, a comparison of the modelling results to experimental data will be given.
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