DEPARTMENT OF ORTHOPAEDICS

KASTURBA MEDICAL COLLEGE

Brief discussion on Tribology

MODERATOR
Prof.R.M.SHENOY
CO-MODERATOR: Dr.VIVEK MAHAJAN
PRESENTED BY: DR.Abhinandan.s.punit

Date:01/12/09

Definition: Tribology it is defined as the science of surface interacting under

an applied load and in relative motion. It includes study of friction,
lubrication and wear.
Introduction: The word "tribology" derives from the Greek ("tribo")
meaning rub" (root -), and ("logos") meaning 'principle or logic'.
Tribology plays an important role in manufacturing an orthopaedic Implants
(Joint Replacements). In metal on metal or metal on ceramic or metal on
UHMWPE, friction increases implant wear and the power required to work a
piece. This results in increased wear, aseptic loosening of Implant due to
osteolysis and revision arthroplasty.
Biotribology: term was introduced by Dawson and Wright in 1973, to cover
all aspects of tribology related to biological system. E.g. studies of natural
synovial joint lubrication and the design, manufacture and performance of
various forms of total joint replacements.

History of tribology: The word tribology was coined in 1966 following

The Jost Report
Fundamentals of Tribology: The tribological interactions of a solid
surfaces exposed face with interfacing materials and environment may
result in loss of material from surface.
The process, leading to loss of material is known as wear.
The wear particles liberated from artificial joints have been shown to cause
adverse tissue reactions osteolysis and loosening and also on quality of
magnetic recording systems.
Major types of wear include
1) Abrasive
2) Adhesive
3) Fatigue
4) Erosive
5) corrosive
Adhesive: Involves bonding of the surface material when they are pressed
together under load. Sufficient relative motion results in materials being
pulled away from the one or more surface, usually weaker material .
Abrasive: A mechanical process in which asperities on the harder surface
cut and plough through the softer surface, resulting in removal of material.
When local stresses exceed the fatigue strength of a material, that material
fails after a certain number of loading cycles, with release of material from
the surface.

Fatigue: The removal of materials as a result of cyclic stress variations.

Erosive: Loss of material from solid surface due to relative motion in
contact with fluid which contains solid particles. Subdivided into
impingement erosion and abrasive erosion.
Corrosive: A process in which chemical or electrochemical reactions with
the environment dominates such as oxidative wear.
The conditions under which the prosthesis was functioning when the wear
occurred have been termed the wear modes3.
Mode -1 wear results from the motion of two primary bearing surface
against each other , as intended.
Mode 2 refer to the condition of a primary bearing surface moving against
secondary surface that was not intended to come into contact with the first.
Usually, this mode of wear occurs after excessive wear in mode 1.
An example would be when a femoral component penetrates through
a modular polyethylene liner and articulates with the metal backing.
Mode 3 refers of the condition of the primary surfaces moving against each
other, but with third body abrasion or three-body wear. The primary
bearing surface may be transiently or permanently roughened by this
interaction, leading to a higher Mode -1 wear rate.

Mode -4 wear refers to two secondary (nonprimary) surfaces rubbing

together.
An examples of Mode 4-wear include wear due to relative motion of
the outer surface of a modular polyethylene component against the metal
support, so called backside wear, fretting between a metallic substrate and a
fixation screw, or fretting and corrosion of modular taper connections and
extra articular sources. Particles produced by Mode-4 wear can migrate to
the primary bearing surfaces, inducing three body wear (Mode 3).
LUBRICATION
Lubrication refers to adding lubricant between two bearing surface in order
to control friction and wear. Three distinct lubrication regimens exist
A. Fluid-film lubrication.
B. Boundary lubrication.
C. Mixed lubrication.
It is clear that in order to minimize wear, ideal lubrication regimen is fluid
film. However, wear cannot be eliminated completely. Ceramic-on-ceramic
joints may achieve favorable lubrication due to smoothness of bearing
surface. Although recently developed manufacturing techniques for metallic
bearing surfaces are also capable of achieving a similar standard. The
tribiological performance of a joint depends on the fluid film covering its
surfaces. A high ratio of fluid film thickness to surface roughness ( ratio) is
desirable in order to reduce friction and wear
Fluid film lubrication completely separates the surfaces of a bearing. This
occurs when the lubricating film is thicker than the height of the asperities
on the bearing surfaces. In this situation the load is carried by the fluid and
wear of bearing is minimal.

For a given load and sliding velocity, fluid film thickness is dependent on
the properties of the fluid, the bearing materials, the macrogeometry of the
bearing (which is a function of diameter and radial clearance) and the
surface microtopography (surface finish).
SURFACES
All real surfaces are rough on microscopic scale. The smoothest bearing
surface for artificial joints is usually found on ceramics with irregularities in
the region of 0.005 m, while for metallic bearing surface, these are
generally in the region of 0.01 m.
The commonest parameters used to characterize the roughness of a surface is
average roughness denoted by (Ra ). Typical (Ra ) values for various bearing
surfaces used in current artificial hip joints are as follows
Bearings

Femoral

Ra (m)

Acetabular

Ra (m)

Composite

Ra

(m)
UHMWPE-on-

cobalt-chrome

0.01-0.025

UHMWPE

0.1-2.5

0.1-2.5

metal-on metal

cobalt-chrome

0.005-0.025

cobalt -chrome

0.05-0.025

0.0071-0.035

ceramic-on-

alumina

0.005-0.01

alumina

0.005-0.01

0.0071-0.014

metal

ceramic

FRICTION
Defined as resistance to motion.
First studies by Leanardo Da vinci (A.D. 1452 to 1519) Three laws of dry
friction
1. Force of friction is directly proportional to applied load.

2. Force of friction is independent of apparent area of contact.

3. Kinetic force of frition is independent of sliding speed.
Friction between bearing surface has played an important role in
development of artificial hip joints. Early hip replacements designed by Sir
John charnley utilized materials with optimal friction properties with low coefficient of friction. However, these failed due to quick wear. Majority of hip
implants using metal on metal articulation also failed rapidly due to
equatorial contact and the resultant high friction and frictional torque
generated.
Low friction is preferential between the bearing surface to reduce the stress
transmitted to the fixation interface.
To prevent stress transmitted at fixation interface, not only a co-efficient of
friction at articulating surface should be reduced but also the radius of
femoral head to be reduced as per the basic principles proposed by the late
Sir John Charnley.

Applications of tribology in orthopaedics

1) Tribology (friction, wear and lubrication) is extremely important in
understanding of the normal function and degeneration of natural
synovial joints.

2) In the design of artificial joint replacements. Example: total hip and

total knee prosthesis, it helps in designing a prosthesis and selection
of material best suited for acetabular bearing and modular head with
less wear and less systemic toxicity by wear particals and there by
increasing the life of prosthesis and less need for revision arhroplasty
in THR (UHMWP for acetabular bearing and metallic head
combination has best tribological properties) and in TKR.

References
1. Z. M. Jin, M. Stone, E. Ingham, J. Fisher, biotribology, current
orthopaedics, 2006 Aug 20;324.
2. Christian Heisei,MD ,Bearing surface options for THR in young
patients ,JBJS,vol 85-A,no7,2003 july.
3. P.S.Walker ,The Tribology of all metial artifical hip joints ,clinical
orthopaedics and related research,no 329S,aug 1996.
4. Thomas

p.Schmalzried,MD

Wear

in

replacements,JBJS,vol 81A, no 1 ,jan 1999.

total

hip

and

knee