The present work focuses on evaluating the tribological behavior of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) with 316L stainless steel and Ti6Al4V under dry and lubricated sliding conditions using human body fluids (synovial fluid and human serum). Eighteen trials of experiments were performed using a reciprocating sliding tribometer (pin-on-disc) at 37°C based on Taguchi’s L18 (21 × 32) array. The in-vitro experimental results revealed that UHMWPE offers better tribological performance under synovial fluid lubrication conditions irrespective of the counterface material. The optimization of the response variables (coefficient-of-friction (COF) and specific wear rate (WR)) was performed using optimization techniques (Taguchi and Grey relational analysis). It was revealed that Ti6Al4V counterface material under synovial fluid lubrication and normal load of 52 N exhibits the optimal tribological performance with UHWMPE. The contribution of process parameters on the COF and WR was evaluated using analysis of variance. It was established that load is the most significant parameter, affecting COF and WR.
The hip and knee joints work under boundary/mixed lubrication during sleep and rest which causes starved lubrication by the natural lubricant synovial fluid and with the passage of time leads to arthritis resulting from the wear of joints due to starved lubrication. The excessive wear leads to loosening of joint needing total joint replacement. The current materials used in total knee replacement and total hip replacement are presented in this paper. Biomedical implants are gaining increasing attention nowadays to improve the working lifespan of joint replacements like hip and knee. Researchers are focussing on developing biocompatible materials with improved wear resistance for joint replacements. Various biocompatible metals and polymers have been used for knee & hip joints which are discussed in this paper. The investigations on self-lubricating biocompatible coatings on metals and alloys are the current focus of research. In this paper, a broad review of the materials used for total joint prosthetics is presented and the current trends of the joint replacement technology are discussed besides highlighting the various issues and challenges.
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