Effect of Contact Pressure on the Variations in Coefficients of Friction Between Porcine Knee Joint Cartilage and Co-Cr Alloy in a Repeat Pass Sliding Motion

In this study, the influence of contact pressure on the variation in coefficients of friction between porcine knee joint cartilage and Co-Cr alloy in a repeat pass sliding motion was investigated. Flat-ended cartilage pin specimens(9 mm diameter, 8 mm long) were prepared from porcine(6 months old) knee joints by a drill-type punch. Friction tests were conducted by using a pin-on-disk type friction tester for an hour in PBS lubricated condition under the contact pressures of 0.5, 1 and 2 MPa with 50 mm distance per a cycle at ambient condition. As a result, coefficients of friction increased as the test duration increased for all contact pressures. The maximum coefficients of friction were 0.082, 0.06 and 0.098 for 0.5, 1, and 2 MPa, respectively. It showed that coefficients of friction of porcine knee joint cartilage against Co-Cr alloy depended on the level of contact pressure and related to squeeze film lubrication mechanism.