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Effect of synovial fluid constituent on the tribological behaviors of UHMWPE-CoCrMo alloy contact pair

Qin Tan (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China)
Yali Zhang (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China)
Xinle Li (Department of Organic Chemistry, Petrochina Petrochemical Research Institute, Beijing, China)
Jian Pu (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China)
Shu Yang (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China)
Zhongmin Jin (School of Mechanical Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, China; School of Mechanical Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China and School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK)

Industrial Lubrication and Tribology

ISSN: 0036-8792

Article publication date: 6 March 2023

Issue publication date: 4 April 2023

84

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to systematically investigate the tribological behaviors of metal and polyethylene using lubricants composed of four synovial fluid (SF) components. In addition, the changes in protein conformation during wear were analyzed to establish the correlation between protein conformation and tribological properties.

Design/methodology/approach

A pin-on-disk tester with multidirectional sliding motion was used for tribological properties observation between metal and polyethylene pairs. Simulated SFs with four main constituents were used as the testing lubricants. Differential scanning calorimetry and Raman were used to characterize the changes in protein conformation during wear.

Findings

The coupling of lipids and hyaluronic acid further suppressed protein denaturation. The protein structures of the adsorption film and the ensnared protein chains in the friction zone were maintained to a certain extent, thus improving the friction and wear of polyethylene.

Originality/value

These findings established the correlation between protein conformation and friction and wear, promoting the understanding of the lubrication mechanism of artificial joints.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Sichuan Province Science and Technology Support Program (2020YJ0032).

Citation

Tan, Q., Zhang, Y., Li, X., Pu, J., Yang, S. and Jin, Z. (2023), "Effect of synovial fluid constituent on the tribological behaviors of UHMWPE-CoCrMo alloy contact pair", Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, Vol. 75 No. 3, pp. 282-291. https://doi.org/10.1108/ILT-10-2022-0314

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited

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