Rieu J, Goeuriot P
Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines, St-Etienne, France.
Clin Mater. 1993;12(4):211-7. doi: 10.1016/0267-6605(93)90075-i.
Ceramics have been successfully used for more than twenty years for orthopaedic prostheses, as articulating bearing surfaces against ceramic or polymer components. In both cases, ceramics are characterized by low friction coefficient and low wear rate, compared to metallic materials (stainless steels, titanium and chromium-cobalt alloys). However, their brittleness is much higher than that of metals and presently restricts the use of ceramics for hip joint balls or knee condyles. In the material science field, it is very well known that the association of two different materials can lead to new materials, often called 'composites'. Their properties can be higher than the same properties of each of the individual materials, when taken separately. Nevertheless, the word 'composites' is not universally used with the same meaning. For this reason, we will first give a few definitions in order to clearly understand what can be called 'composite' for ceramic materials. Dispersed phases increase the fracture toughness and high temperature mechanical behaviour of ceramics. In this paper, devoted to medical applications, only mechanical properties at the low (body or room) temperature are analysed. Particular attention is given to the alumina-zirconia system, because aluminium and zirconium oxides are currently accepted as biomaterials for joint prostheses. Finally, a highlight is given on the difficulties in the technological processes to obtain improved ceramic composites.
陶瓷已成功用于骨科假体二十多年，作为与陶瓷或聚合物部件的关节承重表面。在这两种情况下，与金属材料（不锈钢、钛和钴铬合金）相比，陶瓷的特点是摩擦系数低和磨损率低。然而，它们的脆性比金属高得多，目前限制了陶瓷在髋关节球头或膝关节髁上的应用。在材料科学领域，众所周知，两种不同材料的结合可以产生新材料，通常称为“复合材料”。当单独考虑时，它们的性能可能高于每种单独材料的相同性能。然而，“复合材料”这个词的使用并不普遍具有相同的含义。因此，我们将首先给出一些定义，以便清楚地理解什么可以称为陶瓷材料的“复合材料”。分散相可提高陶瓷的断裂韧性和高温力学性能。在本文中，专门讨论医学应用，仅分析低温（体温或室温）下的力学性能。特别关注氧化铝-氧化锆体系，因为氧化铝和氧化锆目前被公认为关节假体的生物材料。最后，重点介绍了获得性能改进的陶瓷复合材料的工艺过程中的困难。
