Abstract
Low-carbon Stellite 21 has been used as hip implant material for a number of decades; however, its limited metal-on-metal bearing has resulted in loosening between the femoral head and the acetabular cup of hip implants. In order to improve the metal-on-metal bearing, it is proposed that a high-carbon alloy, Stellite 720, surface coating be applied on Stellite 21 hip implants to improve mechanical and tribological performance. For this coating to be practical, it must also meet the requirements of corrosion resistance for orthopedic implant materials. In this research, Stellite 720 is investigated with pin-on-disk wear tests, and electrochemical and immersion corrosion tests in simulated human body fluid (Hank’s solution; pH 7.4 at temperature of 37°C). The experimental results demonstrate that Stellite 720 exhibits much better wear resistance than Stellite 21, and has the potential for better corrosion resistance as well. The applicability of coating Stellite 21 hip implants with Stellite 720 is discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
G. Manivasagam, D. Dhinasekaran, and A. Rajamanickam, Biomedical Implants: Corrosion and Its Prevention: A Review, Recent Patents Corros. Sci., 2010, 2, p 40–54
E.N. Codaro, P. Melnikov, I. Ramires, and A.C. Guastaldi, Corrosion Behavior of a Cobalt-Chromium-Molybdenum Alloy, Russian Journal of Electrochemistry, 2000, 36(10), p 1117–1121
Y. Yan, A. Neville, and D. Dowson, Tribo-Corrosion Properties of Cobalt-Based Medical Implant Alloys in Simulated Biological Environments, Wear, 2007, 263(7–12), p 1105–1111
J. Nevelos, J.C. Shelton, and J. Fisher, Metallurgical Considerations in the Wear of Metal-on-Metal Hip Bearings, Hip Int., 2004, 14(1), p 1–10
M. Sivakumar, K.S.K. Dhanadurai, and S. Rajeswari, Failures in Stainless Steel Orthopaedic Implant Devices: A Survey, Journal of Material Science Letters, 1995, 14(5), p 351–354
M. Sivakumar, U.K. Mudali, and S. Rajeswari, Investigation of Failures in Stainless Steel Orthopaedic Implant Devices: Fatigue Failure Due to Improper Fixation of a Compression Bone Plate, Journal of Material Science Letters, 1994, 13, p 142–145
Canadian Institute for Health Information, Canadian Joint Replacement Registry (CJRR) 2008–2009 Annual Report, CIHI, Ottawa, 2009
H.P. Sieber, C.B. Rieker, and P. Kottig, Analysis of 118 Second-Generation Metal-on-Metal Retrieved Hip Implants, J. Bone Joint Surg., 1999, 81(1), p 46–50
A. Matthies, R. Underwood, P. Cann, K. Ilo, Z. Nawaz, J. Skinner, and A.J. Hart, Retrieval Analysis of 240 Metal-on-Metal Hip Components, Comparing Modular Total Hip Replacement with Hip Resurfacing, Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. British Volume, 2011, 93(3), p 307–314
P.F. Doom, J.M. Mirra, P.A. Campbell, and H.C. Amstutz, Tissue Reaction to Metal on Metal Total Hip Prostheses, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 1996, 329, p 187–205
J. Fisher, X.Q. Hu, T.D. Stewart, S. Williams, J.L. Tipper, E. Ingham, M.H. Stone, C. Davies, P. Hatto, J. Bolton, M. Riley, C. Hardaker, G.H. Isaac, and G. Berry, Wear of Surface Engineered Metal-on-Metal Hip Prostheses, Journal of Materials Science. Materials in Medicine, 2004, 15(3), p 225–235
S. Williams, J.L. Tipper, E. Ingham, M.H. Stone, and J. Fisher, In Vitro Analysis of the Wear, Wear Debris and Biological Activity of Surface-Engineered Coatings for Use in Metal-on-Metal Total Hip Replacements, Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. H., 2003, 217(3), p 155–163
J.J. Jacobs, A.K. Skipor, P.F. Doom, P. Campbell, T.P. Schmalzried, J. Black, and H.C. Amstutz, Cobalt and Chromium Concentrations in Patients with Metal on Metal Total Hip Replacements, Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, 1996, 329, p 256–263
E. Frigerio, P.D. Pigatto, G. Guzzi, and G. Altomare, Metal Sensitivity in Patients with Orthopaedic Implants: A Prospective Study, Contact Dermat., 2011, 64(5), p 273–279
J.R. Davis, Nickel, Cobalt, and Their Alloys, ASM International, Materials Park, 2000, p 362–406
J.D. Bolton, J. Hayden, and M. Humphreys, A Study of Corrosion Fatigue in Cast Cobalt-Chrome-Molybdenum Alloys, Eng. Med., 1982, 11, p 59–68
V. Anand, A.J. Hickl, P. Kumar, B.A. Boeck, and T.H. Sanders, Jr., Relationships Between Processing, Microstructure, and Properties of a Co-Cr-Mo Alloy, Prog. Powd. Metall., 1984, 39, p 445–490
M. Farhani, A. Amadeh, H. Kashani, and A. Saeed-Akbari, The Study of Wear Resistance of a Hot Forging Die, Hard faced by a Cobalt-Base Superalloy, Materials Forum, 2006, 30, p 212–218
S.M. Guadalupe, S. Mischler, M. Cantoni, W.J. Chitty, C. Falcand, and D. Hertz, Mechanical and Chemical Mechanisms in the Tribocorrosion of a Stellite Type Alloy, Wear, 2013, doi:10.1016/j.wear.2013.04.007
C.D. Opris, R. Liu, M.X. Yao, and X.J. Wu, Development of Stellite Alloy Composites with Sintering/HIPing Technique for Wear-Resistant Applications, Materials and Design, 2007, 28, p 581–591
Y. Ning, P.C. Patnaik, R. Liu, M.X. Yao, and X.J. Wu, Effects of Fabrication Process and Coating of Reinforcements on the Microstructure and Wear Performance of Stellite Alloy Composites, Materials Science and Engineering A, 2005, 391(1–2), p 313–324
R. Liu, Q. Yang, and F. Gao, Tribological Behavior of Stellite 720 Coating under Block–on–Ring Wear Test, Mater. Sci. Appl., 2012, 3, p 756–762
S. Kapoor, R. Liu, X.J. Wu, and X.X. Yao, Microstructure and Wear Resistance Relations of Stellite Alloys, Inter. J. Adv. Mater. Sci., 2013, 4(3), p 231–248
ASTM G99-95, Standard Test Method for Wear Testing with a Pin-on-Disk Apparatus, ASTM, West Conshohocken, 2010
ASTM G5-13, Standard Reference Test Method for Making Potentiostatic and Potentiodynamic Anodic Polarization Measurements, ASTM, West Conshohocken, 2011
U.K. Mudali, T.M. Sridhar, and B. Raj, Corrosion of Bio Implants, Sadhana, 2003, 28(3–4), p 601–637
R.W. Revie and H.H. Uhlig, Corrosion and Corrosion Control: An Introduction to Corrosion Science and Engineering, 4th ed., Wiley, New York, 2008, p 53–82
E.E. Stansbury, Handbook of Environmental Degradation of Materials, M. Kutz, Ed., Amsterdam, Boston, 2012, p 87–126
A. Lasia, Modern Aspects of Electrochemistry, Vol 32, B.E. Conway, J. Bockris, R.E. White, Ed., Kluwer Academic/Plenum, New York, 1999, p 143–248
ASTM G102-89, Standard Practice for Calculation of Corrosion Rates and Related Information from Electrochemical Measurements, ASTM, West Conshohocken, 1999
J.R. Macdonald, Impedance Spectroscopy, Annals of Biomedical Engineering, 1992, 20(3), p 289–305
E. Oral, S.D. Christensen, A.S. Malhi, K.K. Wannomae, and O.K. Muratoglu, Wear Resistance and Mechanical Properties of Highly Cross-Linked, Ultrahigh-Molecular Weight Polyethylene Doped with Vitamin E, Journal of Arthroplasty, 2006, 21(4), p 580–591
G.A. McRae, M.A. Maguire, C.A. Jeffrey, D.A. Guzonas, and C.A. Brown, A Comparison of Fractal Dimensions Determined from Atomic Force Microscopy and Impedance Spectroscopy of Anodic Oxides on Zr-2.5Nb, Applied Surface Science, 2002, 191, p 94–105
Acknowledgment
The authors are grateful for financial support from the Natural Science & Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), in-kind support from National Research Council Canada (NRC), and both financial and in-kind support of Kennametal Stellite Inc.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hu, P.S., Liu, R., Liu, J. et al. Investigation of Wear and Corrosion of a High-Carbon Stellite Alloy for Hip Implants. J. of Materi Eng and Perform 23, 1223–1230 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-014-0887-x
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11665-014-0887-x