Dynamic creep behavior of acrylic bone cement.

Recent studies concerning the fixation of cemented total hip arthroplasty (THA) have led to new hypotheses about the dynamic, long-term failure mechanisms leading to prosthetic loosening. As a result, the long-term mechanical behavior of acrylic bone cement has gained more interest since little is known about these properties. In this study, the dynamic, compressive creep deformation of acrylic bone cement was examined. An amount of creep was found, with creep strains exceeding the elastic strain during 14 x 10(6) loading cycles. There was a linear relationship between the logarithmic values of the number of loading cycles and the creep strain. The effect of stress level on the amount of creep was different from that in results of static experiments reported in the literature. Comparing the results with tensile creep experiments revealed that bone cement under a tensile load creeps much quicker than under a compressive one. Young's modulus was significantly higher when the material was loaded at higher strain rates. The bone cement became stiffer with an increasing number of loading cycles. The creep behavior of bone cement is important for the long-term behavior of cemented THA. It enables subsidence of the stem and attenuation of stress peaks in the cement mantle.