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Predictive Wear Modelling of Total Hip Replacements under Standard and Adverse Loading Conditions
This project aims at predicting the wear behavior of total hip replacements under realistic loading conditions by means of finite element modelling.
Keywords: Total Hip Replacements, Wear,
Finite Element Modelling
Thanks to the advancements in computational technology, theoretical modelling of hip implant wear has become an important research topic in recent years. Initial hydrodynamic lubrication models have been replaced by more complex elasto-hydrodynamic ones, which allow the simulation of more realistic loading scenarios, and their influence on the local deformation of the bearing surfaces.
Implant wear predictions are, for the most part, based on the wear law of Archard, which has been adapted for application in whole joint models. One of the most recent hip implant wear models, developed by Gao et al., allows modelling of lubrication for a ball-in-socket geometry with inclusion of non-sphericity, cup inclination, 3D transient load and motion, elastic deformation of both cup and head materials and a realistic rheology of the synovial fluid.
As part of the European project “Life Long Joints”, this state-of-the-art implant-scale FE model of the hip joint will be implemented in a sequentially coupled simulation strategy in order to predict wear under realistic loading scenarios. Joint loads calculated from whole-body simulations will be passed as boundary conditions to geometrically precise FE models of the implant that allows for wear prediction.
In this project, an assessment of wear performance under standard and adverse conditions will be performed to predict long-term performance of different implants. This simulation technique will be used to explore loading conditions that are not currently reproducible on physical wear testers, driving not only the design of future generations of wear simulators, but also the definition of more demanding and more realistic testing standards.
Thanks to the advancements in computational technology, theoretical modelling of hip implant wear has become an important research topic in recent years. Initial hydrodynamic lubrication models have been replaced by more complex elasto-hydrodynamic ones, which allow the simulation of more realistic loading scenarios, and their influence on the local deformation of the bearing surfaces. Implant wear predictions are, for the most part, based on the wear law of Archard, which has been adapted for application in whole joint models. One of the most recent hip implant wear models, developed by Gao et al., allows modelling of lubrication for a ball-in-socket geometry with inclusion of non-sphericity, cup inclination, 3D transient load and motion, elastic deformation of both cup and head materials and a realistic rheology of the synovial fluid. As part of the European project “Life Long Joints”, this state-of-the-art implant-scale FE model of the hip joint will be implemented in a sequentially coupled simulation strategy in order to predict wear under realistic loading scenarios. Joint loads calculated from whole-body simulations will be passed as boundary conditions to geometrically precise FE models of the implant that allows for wear prediction. In this project, an assessment of wear performance under standard and adverse conditions will be performed to predict long-term performance of different implants. This simulation technique will be used to explore loading conditions that are not currently reproducible on physical wear testers, driving not only the design of future generations of wear simulators, but also the definition of more demanding and more realistic testing standards.
The student will have the opportunity to understand the major challenges associated with the development of joint replacements, to be involved in a multi-scale modelling framework in collaboration with other European partners, and to work with a state-of-the-art wear model involving both Finite Element and Finite Difference Methods (FEM and FDM)
The student will have the opportunity to understand the major challenges associated with the development of joint replacements, to be involved in a multi-scale modelling framework in collaboration with other European partners, and to work with a state-of-the-art wear model involving both Finite Element and Finite Difference Methods (FEM and FDM)
Enrico De Pieri, enrico.depieri@hest.ethz.ch / Institute for Biomechanics, ETH Zürich / Professorship Stephen Ferguson
Enrico De Pieri, enrico.depieri@hest.ethz.ch / Institute for Biomechanics, ETH Zürich / Professorship Stephen Ferguson