NUMERICAL MODELING OF WEAR DISTRIBUTION ON THE TIBIAL INSERT

Wear is one of the main mechanical factors that limits the lifetime duration of total knee replacements (TKRs) and it is known to be highly dependent on the local kinematics of the knee joint. In this study, a novel hybrid wear model is introduced to model the wear distribution between the lateral and medial side of any commercially available TKRs. The major aim is to be able to rate TKRs, based on their wear properties that are obtained from numerical simulations, whether in long term they are able to maintain a modest and closely equal wear propagation on both of the tibial compartments. For the simulations, three TKR geometries were used with the augmented Archard's law which involves the effect of slide-roll under squat motion. Squat was chosen due to its importance both in sport and everyday life. By this model, it is demonstrated on different TKRs how wear is built up on both sides of the tibial tray from 20 to 120 degree of flexion angle.

Automated summary

A new hybrid wear model is introduced in this study to simulate the wear distribution between the lateral and medial side of any commercially available total knee replacements (TKRs). The main goal is to evaluate the wear properties of TKRs and predict whether they can maintain a balanced wear propagation on both tibial compartments in the long term.