TY - JOUR
T1 - Crack-growth of medical-grade silicone using pure shear tests
AU - Leslie, Laura
AU - Kukureka, Stephen
AU - Shepherd, Duncan
PY - 2008/6/1
Y1 - 2008/6/1
N2 - Silicone elastomers are commonly used in the manufacture of single-piece joint replacement implants for the finger joints. However, the survivorship of these implants can be poor, with failure typically occurring from fracture of the stems. The aim of this paper was to investigate the crack growth of medical-grade silicone using pure shear tests. Two medical-grade silicones (C6-180 and Med82-5010-80) were tested. Each sample had a 20 mm crack introduced and was subjected to a sinusoidally varying tensile strain, with a minimum of 0 per cent and a maximum in the range 10 to 77 per cent. Testing was undertaken at a frequency of 10 Hz. At various times during testing, the testing machine was stopped, the number of cycles completed was noted, and the crack length measured. Graphs of crack length against number of cycles were plotted, as well as the crack growth rate against tearing energy. The results show that Med82-5010-80 is more crack resistant than C6-180. Graphs of crack growth rate against tearing energy can be used to predict the failure of these medical-grade elastomers.
AB - Silicone elastomers are commonly used in the manufacture of single-piece joint replacement implants for the finger joints. However, the survivorship of these implants can be poor, with failure typically occurring from fracture of the stems. The aim of this paper was to investigate the crack growth of medical-grade silicone using pure shear tests. Two medical-grade silicones (C6-180 and Med82-5010-80) were tested. Each sample had a 20 mm crack introduced and was subjected to a sinusoidally varying tensile strain, with a minimum of 0 per cent and a maximum in the range 10 to 77 per cent. Testing was undertaken at a frequency of 10 Hz. At various times during testing, the testing machine was stopped, the number of cycles completed was noted, and the crack length measured. Graphs of crack length against number of cycles were plotted, as well as the crack growth rate against tearing energy. The results show that Med82-5010-80 is more crack resistant than C6-180. Graphs of crack growth rate against tearing energy can be used to predict the failure of these medical-grade elastomers.
KW - crack growth
KW - finger
KW - implant
KW - mechanical testing
KW - medical-grade
KW - silicone
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=58149154197&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://pih.sagepub.com/content/222/6/977.abstract
U2 - 10.1243/09544119JEIM393
DO - 10.1243/09544119JEIM393
M3 - Article
VL - 222
SP - 977
EP - 982
JO - Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine
JF - Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine
SN - 0954-4119
IS - 6
ER -