Effects of test sample shape and surface production method on the fatigue behaviour of PMMA bone cement

There is no consensus over the optimal criterion to define the fatigue life of bone cement in vitro. Fatigue testing samples have been made into various shapes using different surface preparation techniques with little attention being paid to the importance of these variations on the fatigue results. The present study focuses on the effect of test sample shape and surface production method on the fatigue results. The samples were manufactured with two cross sectional shapes: rectangular according to ISO 527 and circular according to ASTM F2118. Each shape was produced using two methods: direct moulding of the cement dough and machining from oversized rods. Testing was performed using two different bone cements: SmartSet GHV and DePuy CMW1. At least 10 samples of each category were tested, under fully reversed tension-compression fatigue stress at ±20 MPa, to allow for Weibull analysis to compare results. The growth of fatigue cracks was observed by means of the changes in the absorbed energy and apparent modulus. It was found that fatigue crack growth can be altered by the sample shape and production method; however it is also dependent on the chemical composition of the cement. The results revealed that moulded samples, particularly those based on the ASTM F2118 standard, can lead to up to 5.5 times greater fatigue lives compared to the machined samples of the same cement. It is thus essential, when comparing the fatigue results of bone cement, to consider the effect of production method along with the shape of the test sample.