Mechanical Properties of Polyethylene Artificial Tendons.

摘要

Artificial tendons fabricated from fabric meshes and woven tapes of polyethylene produced strengths of 9.4 to 34.0 pounds resulting in ultimate tensile stresses of 31,182 (215 Mpa) to 112,956 psi (779 Mpa). Tensile stress values were based on ultimate loads divided by the total cross-sectional area of monofilaments under tension. Ultimate elongation was about sixty-five percent. Elastic recovery of these materials range from 70 to 90 percent when strained 10 and 5 percent respectively. The remaining strain recovered in a few minutes. Pore sizes of these materials were 111 to 508 microns square. This was considered an adequate range for determining the effects of tissue ingrowth. Finally, the polyethylene tendons were flex cycled in excess of 2 million flexes with no apparent detrimental effects.