Crack growth resistance of alumina, zirconia and zirconia toughened alumina ceramics for joint prostheses

Crack growth resistance of alumina, zirconia and zirconia toughened alumina ceramics for joint prostheses.

Mono-phase bio-ceramics (alumina and zirconia) are widely used as femoral heads in total hip replacements (THR) as an alternative to metal devices. Unfortunately, the orthopaedic community reports significant in-vivo failures. Material scientists are already familiar with composites like alumina zirconia. Since both are biocompatible, this could prove to be a new approach to implants. This pape...

Slow-Crack-Growth Behavior of Zirconia-Toughened Alumina Ceramics Processed by Different Methods

A study of slow-crack propagation in zirconia-toughened alumina (ZTA) ceramics is presented. Different ZTA composites, using either unstabilized or yttria-stabilized zirconia, have been tested. The materials were prepared in the range 0–15 vol% ZrO2, using two processing methods: powder mixing and a modified colloidal route. Crack propagation tests have been conducted for crack velocities from ...

Fracture simulation for zirconia toughened alumina microstructure

Processing and Properties of Zirconia-Toughened Alumina Prepared by Gelcasting

Zirconia-toughened alumina (ZTA) using yttria-stabilised zirconia is a good option for ceramic-ceramic bearing couples for hip joint replacement. Gelcasting is a colloidal processing technique capable of producing complex products with a range of dimensions and materials by a relatively low-cost production process. Using gelcasting, ZTA samples were prepared, optimising the stages of fabricatio...

Degradation of alumina and zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA) hip prostheses tested under microseparation conditions in a shock device

This paper considers the degradation of alumina and zirconia toughened alumina vs. alumina for hip implants. The materials are as assumed to be load bearing surfaces subjected to shocks in wet conditions. The load is a peak of force; 9 kN was applied over 15 ms at 2 Hz for 800,000 cycles. The volumetric wear and roughness are lower for ZTA than for alumina. The long ZTA ageing did not seem to h...