SYMPOSIA PAPER Published: 01 January 1986
STP19343S

Fatigue Crack Growth and Crack Arrest in the Nails Used for Intramedullary Fixation of Femur Fractures

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The fractures of large bones are often fixed by use of intramedullary nails. Sometimes these nails show cracks originating at the end of their slot and also at perforations which are necessary for the screws of interlocking nails. In this paper it is shown that notch stresses near these perforations are responsible for crack initiation. A fracture mechanical analysis is carried out in order to calculate the stress-intensity factor for such cracks under physiological loading. Fatigue considerations are presented, and conditions for crack arrest are shown. A new nail profile is proposed which reduces the notch stresses significantly.

Author Information

Mattheck, C
Institut für Reaktorbauelemente, Arbeitsgruppe Zuverlässigkeit und Schadenskunde im Maschinenbau, Karlsruhe, West Germany
Kneifel, B
Institut für Reaktorbauelemente, Arbeitsgruppe Zuverlässigkeit und Schadenskunde im Maschinenbau, Karlsruhe, West Germany
Morawietz, P
Institut für Reaktorbauelemente, Arbeitsgruppe Zuverlässigkeit und Schadenskunde im Maschinenbau, Karlsruhe, West Germany
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Details
Developed by Committee: E08
Pages: 361–376
DOI: 10.1520/STP19343S
ISBN-EB: 978-0-8031-4983-0
ISBN-13: 978-0-8031-0485-3