Numerical Study on Medial and Lateral Wear Propagation in Total Knee Replacements Under Squat Movement

Wear is one of the main mechanical factors that limits the lifetime duration of total knee replacements (TKRs) and it is known to be highly dependent on the local kinematics of the knee joint. In this study, a novel hybrid wear model is introduced, based on an analytical wear theory implemented on numerical multibody models. By this innovative approach wear can be differentiated on the lateral and medial side of any TKR. For the simulations, three TKR geometries were used with the augmented Archard's law which involves the effect of slide-roll under squat motion. Squat was chosen due to its importance both in sport and everyday life. By this model it is demonstrated on different TKRs how wear is built up on both sides of the tibial tray from 20 to 120 degree of flexion angle.