A simple method of determining the modulus of orthopedic bone cement

Abstract

Accurate determination of the elastic modulus of surgical bone cements is of primary importance, when evaluating the stresses within the cement mantle in Total Joint Arthroplasty. This article presents a new method of determining the modulus of surgical bone cements from the biaxial flexural test. The biaxial flexural test is not currently employed in mainstream orthopedic mechanical testing, which is surprising because most loading in orthopedic applications is biaxial in nature. Nor has this method been utilized for dental materials, even though the biaxial flexure test has been used for many years in this field. It has been demonstrated that the modulus of surgical bone cements can be determined from the biaxial flexural test, and these results are in agreement with results from compressive and bending tests.