FRICTION AND WEAR TEST OF POLISH COMPONENTSOF A HIP JOINT ENDOPROSTHESIS WITH CERAMICPOLYETHYLENEMATERIAL CONTACT USING HIP JOINTMOVEMENT SIMULATOR

The article presents the results of friction and wear tests of a total hip joint endoprosthesis. The researchmaterial consisted of three pairs of components of a hip joint endoprosthesis with a ceramic-polyethylenematerial contact for use in total hip arthroplasty. The rubbing pair was made of an acetabular cup made ofultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and a head made of ZTA oxide ceramic (Al2O3 +ZrO2) with a diameter of 28 mm. All the components of the endoprosthesis were made by the Polish company"Laser Polska" Marcin Garncarek.Friction and wear tests were carried out utilizing an SBT 01.2 simulator, designed and made in the ŁukasiewiczResearch Network – Poznań Institute of Technology. The simulator is designed to test the tribologicalproperties of hip joint endoprostheses in accordance with the ISO 14242-1 standard. An aqueous solution ofbovine serum, was used as the lubricant.For each rubbing pair, the set number of motion cycles was 5106. Based on the recorded values of frictiontorque and downforce, the coefficient of friction as a function of the number of cycles was determined. Theexact wear value of the acetabular cups was determined after the tests, in accordance with the ASTM F1714-96 standard.