Bidirectional friction study of cancellous bone-porous coated metal interface

Bidirectional friction tests between cancellous bone cubes and a porous-coated metal plate were performed to determine the mechanical properties of the interface required in 3-dimensional (3-D) finite element model studies of cementless implants. Bone specimens were obtained from different proximal regions of four resurfaced cadaveric tibiae. A beaded porous-surfaced plate similar to those used in implants was used. Tangential loads in perpendicular directions with different magnitudes were applied at the interface in the presence of constant normal pressure, and the displacements were monitored in the same directions. Measured results showed that the interface load-displacement curve is highly nonlinear with significant coupling between two perpendicular directions. The interface friction coefficient (defined as the ratio of the maximum resultant tangential force divided by the normal load) was found to remain nearly unchanged with the relative magnitude of tangential stresses and the bone location. Moreover, bidirectional tests suggested that the load-displacement relation when evaluated for resultant values is similar to that obtained in a unidirectional testing condition. Constitutive equations that account for the cross-stiffness coupling terms between perpendicular directions were also developed. These relations were used in a 3-D finite element model study of preceding bidirectional friction tests. The influence of the coupling terms on results was investigated by comparison of predictions with measurement results. A satisfactory agreement was found between the results of the experiments with those of finite element studies confirming the constitutive relations as well as the importance of coupling terms.