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Purpose: The evaluation of the haptics of water taps and wear-related changes during usage usually involves time- and cost-intensive testing. The purpose of this paper is to abstract the tribo-system between technical ceramic disks of water tap mixer cartridges to the model level and study the tribological behavior. Design/methodology/approach: The friction and wear behavior was studied by means of an alumina ball-on-original alumina disk setup at different temperatures as well as under dry conditions and under lubrication by different greases. Thereby, the frictional behavior was measured in situ, and the wear losses were analyzed by means of laser scanning microscopy. Findings: It was shown that friction and wear can behave in a contrasting way, whereby one grease might lead to low friction, that is, an easy-going movability of the water tap, but to increased wear losses. The latter, in turn, is an indicator for the usability and service life, which cannot be explained from friction alone. Thereby, the viscosity of the base oil, the grease consistency and additives were identified as relevant grease formulation parameters to allow for fluid film (re-)formation and removal of wear particles. Originality/value: To the authors' best knowledge, this is the first approach to systematically analyze the friction and wear behavior of technical ceramic disks of water tap mixer cartridges in dependency on the temperature as well as the used lubricating grease. This approach is relevant for developing screening test strategies as well as for the selection of lubricants for water tap applications. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-11-2022-0334/ [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fundamental knowledge about in vivo kinematics and contact conditions at the articulating interfaces of total knee replacements are essential for predicting and optimizing their behavior and durability. However, the prevailing motions and contact stresses in total knee replacements cannot be precisely determined using conventional in vivo measurement methods. In silico modeling, in turn, allows for a prediction of the loads, velocities, deformations, stress, and lubrication conditions across the scales during gait. Within the scope of this paper, we therefore combine musculoskeletal modeling with tribo-contact modeling. In the first step, we compute contact forces and sliding velocities by means of inverse dynamics approach and force-dependent kinematic solver based upon experimental gait data, revealing contact forces during healthy/physiological gait of young subjects. In a second step, the derived data are employed as input data for an elastohydrodynamic model based upon the finite element method full-system approach taking into account elastic deformation, the synovial fluid's hydrodynamics as well as mixed lubrication to predict and discuss the subject-specific pressure and lubrication conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings deposited on the articulating surfaces of total hip or knee arthroplasties have the potential to enhance the overall biotribological behavior and longevity. In this contribution, we employ an ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene ball-on-three cobalt chromium or titanium alloy pin configuration lubricated by simulated body fluid to effectively carry out screening tests. Thus, the influence of the choice of the coated component (metallic and/or polymeric) as well as the differences between a higher and lower load case with non- and conventionally cross-linked polyethylene were studied. The studied coating systems featured excellent mechanical properties with a substantial enhancement of indentation hardness and elastic modulus ratios. The adhesion of the coatings as determined in modified scratch tests can be considered as very good to polymeric and as satisfactory to metallic substrates, thus confirming the potential for the use in total joint arthroplasties. Although the coatings predominantly led to an increase in friction due to the considerably higher roughness, wear was substantially reduced. While only the metallic components were mostly coated in studies reported in literature, our investigation showed that a coating of the polymer component in particular is of decisive importance for enhancing the wear performance and increasing the service life of load-bearing implants. Moreover, single sided coating results in higher wear of the uncoated counter-part. Therefore, coating systems deposited on both articulating surfaces, polymeric and metallic, should be pursued in the future. [Display omitted] • Biotribological screening of DLC coatings for biotribological applications. • Ball-on-three pin setup under SBF lubrication and application-oriented stressing. • Increase in roughness, friction, and hardness due to the DLC coatings. • Single sided coating resulted in higher wear of the uncoated counter-body. • Substantial wear reduction when both components (polymeric & metallic) were coated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The curved and tribologically highly stressed surfaces of bearing components pose a major challenge for steel alloys or tribological resistant coatings like tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) coatings which in particular have an increased risk of delamination due to the significantly increased residual stresses. A possibility to prevent coating failure is the use of dopants while maintaining or even increasing tribological properties. This study aims to compare the tribological behavior of several doped diamond-like-carbon coatings with an undoped ta-C coating under varying slip conditions and Hertzian pressure up to 1800 MPa. Design/methodology/approach: For this purpose, the tribological behavior was studied using of a ball-on-disc tribometer and a two-disc test rig under mixed/boundary conditions. The tests were conducted with coated specimens against uncoated 100Cr6 steel. Additionally, the influence of lubrication additives was studied due to the use of two fully formulated PAO-based oils, one without and one with molybdenum containing additives. The friction was measured in situ, and the wear was analyzed trough laser scanning microscopy and tactile measurement. Findings: It was shown that the use of doped ta-C coatings exhibited a tendency for a more favorable tribological behavior compared to undoped ta-C coatings, with no general dependence on the lubricants used. The use of the most suitable coatings reduced the wear of the steel counter-body considerably. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first approach of testing the tribological behavior of these doped ta-C coatings, developed for friction efficiency, in dependency on lubrication additives under the given load collective. The approach is relevant to determine whether the friction reduction and the wear inhibition of these coatings are suitable for higher contact pressures and load cycles. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-11-2022-0336/ [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings have the potential to reduce implant wear and thus to contribute to avoiding premature failure and increase service life of total knee replacements (TKAs). This two-part study addresses the development of such coatings for ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) tibial inlays as well as cobalt–chromium–molybdenum (CoCr) and titanium (Ti64) alloy femoral components. While a detailed characterization of the tribological behavior is the subject of part II, part I focusses on the deposition of pure (a-C:H) and tungsten-doped hydrogen-containing amorphous carbon coatings (a-C:H:W) and the detailed characterization of their chemical, cytological, mechanical and adhesion behavior. The coatings are fabricated by physical vapor deposition (PVD) and display typical DLC morphology and composition, as verified by focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Their roughness is higher than that of the plain substrates. Initial screening with contact angle and surface tension as well as in vitro testing by indirect and direct application indicate favorable cytocompatibility. The DLC coatings feature excellent mechanical properties with a substantial enhancement of indentation hardness and elastic modulus ratios. The adhesion of the coatings as determined in modified scratch tests can be considered as sufficient for the use in TKAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diamond-like carbon coatings may decrease implant wear, therefore, they are helping to reduce aseptic loosening and increase service life of total knee arthroplasties (TKAs). This two-part study addresses the development of such coatings for ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) tibial inlays as well as cobalt-chromium-molybdenum (CoCr) and titanium (Ti64) alloy femoral components. While the deposition of a pure (a-C:H) and tungsten-doped hydrogen-containing amorphous carbon coating (a-C:H:W) as well as the detailed characterization of mechanical and adhesion properties were the subject of Part I, the tribological behavior is studied in Part II. Pin-on-disk tests are performed under artificial synovial fluid lubrication. Numerical elastohydrodynamic lubrication modeling is used to show the representability of contact conditions for TKAs and to assess the influence of coatings on lubrication conditions. The wear behavior is characterized by means of light and laser scanning microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and particle analyses. Although the coating leads to an increase in friction due to the considerably higher roughness, especially the UHMWPE wear is significantly reduced up to a factor of 49% (CoCr) and 77% (Ti64). Thereby, the coating shows continuous wear and no sudden failure or spallation of larger wear particles. This demonstrated the great potential of amorphous carbon coatings for knee replacements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymer components fabricated by additive manufacturing typically show only moderate strength and low temperature stability, possibly leading to severe wear and short lifetimes especially under dry tribological sliding. To tackle these shortcomings, we investigated the combination of single- and multi-scale textures directly fabricated by digital light processing with amorphous diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings. The topography of the samples and conformity of the coatings on the textures are assessed and their tribological behaviour under dry conditions is studied. We demonstrate that the surface textures have a detrimental tribological effect on the uncoated samples. This changes with the application of DLC coatings since friction substantially reduces and wear of the textures is not observed anymore. These trends are attributed to the protection of the underlying polymer substrate by the coatings and a reduced contact area. The best tribological performance is found for a coating with highest hardness and hardness-to-elasticity ratios. Moreover, multi-scale textures perform slightly better than single-scale textures due to a smaller real contact area. Summarizing, we verified that the high flexibility and low production costs of 3D printing combined with the excellent mechanical and tribological properties of DLC results in synergistic effects with an excellent performance under dry sliding conditions. [Display omitted] • 3D printed PMMA with single- and multi-scale surface textures and DLC coatings • Tribological ball-on-disk characterization under dry sliding conditions • Detrimental effects on friction and wear for surfaces textures without coating • Improved tribological behaviour for DLC coatings with high hardness and elasticity • Synergetic effects for DLC coating on perpendicular oriented multi-scale textures [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total knee replacements are an effective surgical treatment to restore the function of the knee. For an adequate design, knowledge about stresses and lubrication conditions is vital. Part II proposes a fully-coupled transient 3D model for the soft elastohydrodynamically lubricated contact based upon the generalized Reynolds equation and Finite Element Method while Part I of this study focused on experimental observations. Within the scope of this contribution, a numerical model is presented and validated with experimental data. Good agreement between model predictions and experimental data was found. A strong influence of fluid and geometry assumptions and transient effects were found. Besides, it was demonstrated that the rheological synovial fluid properties have a decisive role in the tribological behavior. Image 1 • Combination of experimental investigations with FEM-based numerical modeling. • Good agreement when all relevant influencing factors are considered. • Load and geometry dominated the pressure and film formation in the stance phase. • The swing phase was largely influenced by the kinematics. • The fluid film formation was largely affected by reversal points of motion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This contribution is aimed at the detailed understanding of lubrication mechanisms within total knee replacement. While Part I is focused on the experimental investigation, Part II deals with the development of a predictive numerical model. Here, a knee simulator was used for direct optical observation of the contacts between a metal femoral and a transparent polymer components. Transient dynamic conditions were applied. Mimicked synovial fluids with fluorescently labelled constituents were used as the test lubricants. The results showed that γ-globulin forms thin boundary lubricating film, being reinforced by the interaction of phospholipids and hyaluronic acid. Further development of lubricating film is attributed to albumin layering. Based on the results, a novel lubrication model of the knee implant is proposed. Image 1 • Employment of a knee simulator for exploration of lubrication mechanisms within TKA. • Comparison of experimental results with predictive numerical model. • Consideration of transient loading and kinematic conditions corresponding to ISO. • Fluorescent labeling enabling to determine the role of specific fluid constituents. • Novel lubrication model of TKA is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]