Analysis of stress distribution and crack development and propagation of poly(methyl methacrylate) after the use in human body

This work is an attempt to determine the factors which affect the destruction of poly(methyl methacrylate) used for the fixation of hip joint endoprosthesis to the bone. The experimental material used in the study consisted of the components of the prostheses removed from human body. The numerical calculations involving the analysis of stress distribution in the layer of the bone cement, connecting the prosthesis to the bone, and near the peak (scratch) of the fatigue pre-crack formed during the three-point bending of a SENB sample made from the bone cement with PMMA matrix. An analysis of the development and propagation of cracking in the polymer material was also conducted. The MES computations were performed by means of numerical tools, such as ABAQUS/Standard and ADINA System with the dedicated modern computational procedures. The numerical calculations were carried out taking into account the empirical data describing the conditions of initiation of bone cement cracking process. The results were verified by the data obtained from empirical investigations.