Stress Analysis of a Total Hip Replacement Subjected to Realistic Loading Conditions

Abstract

In this paper the stress distribution of a complete assembly of femur and hip prosthesis is investigated with realistic boundary conditions under nine routine activities using finite element analysis. In each activity, different forces of varying magnitude and orientation were applied on the prosthesis during a period of time to examine the critical points developed in the entire 3D model. This includes a full description of the geometry, material properties and the boundary conditions. The activities considered comprise slow walking, normal walking, fast walking, upstairs, down stairs, standing up, sitting down, and standing on 2-1-2 legs and knee bending. The findings of this study can be used to develop more optimized hip joint prosthesis by altering the prosthesis geometry to achieve a more balanced stress distribution.