ISSN: 0884-6804
Page Count: 11

Prediction of Fatigue Life of Composite Femoral Prostheses Using Acoustic Emission Technique
Henneke, EG
Virginia Polytechnic and State University, VA

Reifsnider, KL
Virginia Polytechnic and State University, VA

Sundaresan, MJ
University of Miami, FL

Abstract

A new proof test procedure that has the potential for estimating the fatigue life of individual composite structural members has been developed. Acoustic emission (AE) data collected during a described proof loading sequence were used for providing such estimates. The structural element used in the study was a composite hip prosthesis fabricated from carbon/thermoplastic composite material. These prostheses were subjected to fatigue under an eccentrically applied load that induced compression, bending, and torsion. Factors that influence AE data interpretation are discussed. Of the three different types of proof test procedures that were studied, the procedure which used a combination of static and cyclic loads for generating the AE data was found to be superior. For the majority of the test specimens the fatigue life was found to be inversely proportional to the level of AE activity during this proof loading sequence.

Keywords:
composite materials, acoustic emission (AE), fatigue, life prediction, hip prosthesis, proof test

Paper ID: CTR10402J
DOI: 10.1520/CTR10402J
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