Assessment of function-graded materials as fracture fixation bone-plates under combined loading conditions using finite element modelling

In previous work by Fouad (Medical Engineering and Physics 2010 [23]), 3D finite element (FE) models for fractured bones with function-graded (FG) bone-plates and traditional bone-plates made of stainless steel (SS) and titanium (Ti) alloy were examined under compressive loading conditions using the ABAQUS Code. In this study, the effects of the presence of the torsional load in addition to the compressive load on the predicted stresses of the fracture fixation bone-plate system are examined at different healing stages. The effects on the stress on the fracture site when using contacted and non-contacted bone-plate systems are also studied. The FE modelling results indicate that the torsional load has significant effects on the resultant stress on the fracture fixation bone-plate system, which should be taken into consideration during the design and the analysis. The results also show that the stress shielding at the fracture site decreases significantly when using FG bone-plates compared to Ti alloy or SS bone-plates. The presence of a gap between the bone and the plate results in a remarkable reduction in bone stress shielding at the fracture site. Therefore, the significant effects of using an FG bone-plate with a gap and the presence of torsional load on the resultant stress on the fracture fixation bone-plate system should be taken into consideration.