A mixed mode fracture toughness test of bone-biomaterial interfaces

Tissue-biomaterial interfacial bonding plays a significant role in the success of biomaterials used for load-bearing orthopedic and dental prostheses. The objective of this study was to develop a physically sound and practically effective technique for assessment of the strength of bone-biomaterial interfaces under mixed mode loading. A single-edge notched sandwich specimen was developed for this purpose, wherein a bilayer specimen comprising the interface between tissue and biomaterial was sandwiched between two holders and loaded under mixed modes. First, a closed form solution was derived for the sandwich specimen under the assumption of linear elasticity, based on a general solution for sandwich structures reported in the literature. Then, a correction factor was determined for the solution using finite element models to compensate for errors induced by finite interlayer thickness. Moreover, using the same FEA models, it was found that crack closure may occur when the shear component is dominant at the crack. However, its effects were estimated to be limited and negligible. Furthermore, as an example, the strength of a bone/dental cement interface under different loading modes was tested using this sandwich technique. It is expected that the mixed mode technique can provide an effective means for investigators to study the mechanical integrity of bone-biomaterial interfaces under complex loading conditions.