Experimental Research Regarding the Thermomechanical Behaviour of PMMA During Recovery of Patients with Joint Replacements

Abstract

Most studies and experimental tests performed upon orthopaedic bone cements are related to their use in everyday conditions when usual wears are due to compression and fatigue. The present paper deals with some special situations occurred during the patient’s recovery after the surgery. The recovery activities and motions may induce different types of loads, like tensile, during stretching and relaxation techniques, especially in the joint insertion area. These situations are insufficiently researched, but they represent one of the main concerns of the medical staff involved in recovery and rehabilitation. Besides the study of mechanical properties for these special situations the paper proposes also a thermal analysis during preparation of the polymethylmethacrylate(PMMA) as it can be the trigger of serious health issues (necrosis, blood circulation problems, BCIS, etc.) due to the exothermic polymerization reaction. The monitoring method proposed for the temperatures developed during the polymerization may avoid the aforementioned issues.