Physico-mechanical and Surface Wear Assessment of Magnesium Oxide Filled Ceramic Composites for Hip Implant Application

In the present study, applicability of ceramic composites as ceramic-on-ceramic hip prostheses is explored. Hence, ceramic composites containing zirconium oxide, silicon nitride, chromium oxide by varying proportion of aluminum oxide and magnesium oxide were prepared by spark plasma sintering and subsequently characterized for their physico-mechanical and tribological properties. The physico-mechanical and tribological properties of the fabricated composites were evaluated by measuring their density, void content, indentation response, fracture toughness and wear resistance respectively. The mechanical properties and wear performance of the composites are significantly improved with the addition of magnesium oxide content. Experimental results indicated that the 3 wt.% magnesium oxide based hip implant composite showed highest hardness, highest fracture toughness, highest young's modulus with lowest wear rate. A maximum increase of approximately 44% in nanohardness, 14% in Young's modulus, 98% in fracture toughness and 75% in wear resistance are achieved by introducing 3 wt.% magnesium oxide content. The experimental results indicated that fabricated ceramic composites will stand out as a promising material for hip implant substitution.