Fatigue of acrylic bone cement--effect of frequency and environment.

This study was conducted to investigate some fundamental fatigue testing variables as they apply to the response characteristics of acrylic bone cement. Cyclic loading under load control was conducted at frequencies of 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 Hz in air at room temperature. At a tensile stress range of 0.3-20.0 MPa the fatigue life increased linearly with logarithmic frequency. The effect of conditioning and testing in saline at both room temperature and 37 degrees C at similar stress levels and a frequency of 10 Hz were also examined. When compared to dry testing at room temperature, testing in saline at 37 degrees C resulted in a reduction in fatigue life while testing in saline at room temperature produced an increase in fatigue life. Of a number of statistical distributions considered, the Weibull was found to be the most appropriate in documenting the findings of this investigation. A companion fractographic investigation of the failure surfaces demonstrated distinct regions of crack growth and fast fracture.