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- Title
Failure Analysis of a Stainless Steel Hip Implant.
- Authors
Marquez, Andres; Mencia, M.; Maharaj, C.
- Abstract
A failure analysis of a stainless steel 316L double-tapered cemented femoral stem hip implant was performed. Fractography, visual observations, material characterization, and morphology analysis were carried out to confirm fatigue as the failure mechanism. A surface defect/imperfection on the upper part of the stem's neck, in the form of an indentation, was most likely the initiation site for fatigue to develop downward the neck of the stem, in the transversal direction. The observed beach marks pattern suggests low-cycle loads most likely caused the failure, where two distinct regions: "smooth" and "rough", which developed slowly and more rapidly, respectively, were identified. From this study, it is convincingly clear the need to ensure proper design and quality control of medical replacement implants during manufacturing. Designing new SS hip implants with larger stem neck's diameters and guaranteeing having an implant's finish as polished as possible will definitely minimize premature failures associated with fatigue that can cause discomfort and pain and have potentially health degrading consequences.
- Subjects
FAILURE analysis; MEDICAL quality control; STAINLESS steel; STEEL analysis; SURFACE defects
- Publication
Journal of Failure Analysis & Prevention, 2023, Vol 23, Issue 2, p846
- ISSN
1547-7029
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s11668-023-01622-x