Fatigue crack growth rate does not depend on mantle thickness: an idealized cemented stem construct under torsional loading

Retrieval studies indicate that cemented stem loosening in femoral components of total hip replacement can initiate at the stem-cement interface. The etiology of the crack propagation process from the stem-cement interface is not well understood, but cracks are typically associated with thin cement mantles. In this study, a combination of experimental and computational methods was used to investigate the fatigue crack propagation process from the stem-PMMA cement interface using a novel torsional loading model. Constructs with thin (1 mm), medium (3 mm) or thick (7 mm) cement mantles were evaluated. Crack growth was stable for all cases and the rate of crack growth diminished with increasing crack length. Crack growth rate did not depend on mantle thickness (p > 0.05) over the first 1 mm of crack length, but cracks in thin mantles reached the full thickness of the mantle in the fewest number of loading cycles. The fracture mechanics-based finite element models indicated decreased stress intensity factors with increasing crack length and were consistent with the experimental findings. When combined with a fatigue crack growth Paris-law for PMMA cement, the finite element models provided reasonable predictions of the crack growth process.