Tribology for All-Ceramic Joint Prostheses

Ceramic on ceramic total hip prostheses are developed to apply to young patients because lifetime of polyethylene joint prostheses is limited by loosening due to biological response. As mating faces of all-ceramic joint must be highly conformed to reduce stress concentration, wear properties of flat surfaces are investigated in this study. Through wear tests at 2 MPa of contact pressure and 36 mm/s of sliding velocity, alumina and silicon carbide keep low wear rate, high hardness and smooth surface. Soft surface film was detected after the test in bovine serum. This suggests that boundary lubrication is effective to reduce wear in all-ceramic joint.