Minimizing Risk of Failure from Ceramic-on-Ceramic Total Hip Prosthesis by Selecting Ceramic Materials Based on Tresca Stress

The choice of ceramic-on-ceramic coupling in total hip prosthesis has advantages over couplings with other combinations of materials that use polyethylene and metal materials in terms of high hardness, scratch resistance, low wear rate, and increased lubrication performance. To reduce the risk of primary postoperative failure, the selection of ceramic materials for ceramic-on-ceramic coupling is a strategic step that needs to be taken. The current study aims to analyze ceramic-on-ceramic coupling with commonly used ceramic materials, namely zirconium dioxide (ZrO2), silicon nitride (Si3N4), and aluminium oxide (Al2O3), according to Tressa failure criterion for the investigation of the stress distribution. A two-dimensional axisymmetric finite element-based computational model has been used to evaluate the Tresca stress on ceramic-on-ceramic coupling under gait cycle. The results show that the use of ZrO2-on-ZrO2 couplings can reduce Tresca stress by about 17.34% and 27.23% for Si3N4-on-Si3N4 and Al2O3-on-Al2O3 couplings, respectively.

Automated summary

The choice of ceramic-on-ceramic coupling in total hip prosthesis offers advantages such as high hardness, scratch resistance, low wear rate, and improved lubrication performance compared to other material combinations. Selecting ceramic materials for such coupling reduces the risk of postoperative failure. This study analyzed commonly used ceramic materials (zirconium dioxide, silicon nitride, and aluminium oxide) for ceramic-on-ceramic coupling and evaluated their stress distribution using a finite element-based computational model. The results showed that using ZrO2-on-ZrO2 coupling reduced Tresca stress by 17.34% compared to Si3N4-on-Si3N4 and Al2O3-on-Al2O3 couplings, which resulted in a 27.23% reduction in Tresca stress.