Effects of a pore size and a pore location on the stress at the crack tip of fatigue bone specimen during one cycle: finite element simulation

摘要

Acrylic bone cements have been widely used in total hip replacements since 1960s as a fixation agent between the implant and the host bone (Kiihn 2000).The presence of pores in the fully polymerised material may have a detrimental and a beneficial effect on the stability of the implant, and hence, on the artificial joint life. Pores would act as stress risers and crack nucleation sites for micro-cracks, leading to an early cement failure. However, they may also act as crack decelerators (Topolski et al. 1993; Dennis et al. 2005), thereby, prolonging the life of the implant.