Fatigue properties of superelastic Ti-Ni filaments and braided cables for bone fixation.

Abstract

This work is focused on the fatigue properties of the braided hollow tubular cables for bone fixation made of superelastic Ti-Ni filaments. To evaluate the fatigue life of the cable and the impact of braiding on fatigue life, a comparative study was conducted on both the braided cable and the single filament. The results of strain-controlled fatigue testing under variable mean and alternating strain conditions demonstrated that: (a) even though alternating strain is the most influent parameter, mean strain also has a significant impact on the fatigue life of both the filament and the braid; an improvement in the braided cable's fatigue life is observed under mean strains corresponding to the middle of the superelastic loop plateau; and (b) run-out (10(5) cycles) is reached at 1% of alternating strain for the filament, and at 0.3% for the braided cable. It was proved that the negative impact of braiding on fatigue life is caused: (a) by friction-induced damage of the braided filaments during cable manufacturing and (b) by locally occurring bending in the vicinity of the filaments' crossing, combined with the interfilament fretting during repetitive stretching of the braided cable.