Investigation of Material Effects in Knee Prosthesis Design Using Finite Element Method

Year 2025, Volume: 7 Issue: 3, 738 - 43, 09.09.2025

Cemil Emre Gökdemir , Ferhat Sayar , Zafer Şen

https://doi.org/10.37990/medr.1710939

Abstract

Aim: Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is an effective orthopedic intervention for patients experiencing significant pain and reduced mobility due to advanced joint degeneration. One of the most critical determinants of TKA success is the mechanical and biological properties of the implant materials used. The Finite Element Method (FEM) serves as a powerful engineering tool for modeling and analyzing the mechanical behavior of prosthetic components in detail. This study aimed to investigate the mechanical effects of different material combinations used in knee prosthesis design through FEM analyses.
Material and Method: The mechanical behavior of three commonly used material combinations in knee prostheses—CoCr–UHMWPE, Ti–UHMWPE, and CoCr–Ti—was comparatively analyzed using the Finite Element Method (FEM). The geometry used in the FEM analysis was based on an anatomical knee model derived from computed tomography (CT) data. The 3D geometry was imported into ANSYS Mechanical APDL software, and adaptive meshing was applied to critical regions such as the femur–tibia contact area. The resulting models consisted of approximately 150,000 to 300,000 elements.
Results: Combinations containing CoCr exhibit lower stress concentrations. The Ti–UHMWPE combination exhibits the highest deformation at 0.93 mm, while the CoCr–Ti combination presents the lowest displacement, reflecting its higher structural rigidity. The comparison between three materials indicates that the CoCr–UHMWPE combination offers the most balanced performance in terms of stress distribution, deformation, and contact pressure.
Conclusion: The central finding of this study is that the CoCr–UHMWPE combination may represent the most optimal structure in terms of mechanical load distribution, contact stability, and deformation control in knee prosthesis applications. Although the Ti–UHMWPE configuration provides flexibility advantages, it must be cautiously evaluated for long-term structural stability. The CoCr–Ti configuration, while highly rigid, was shown to carry a potential risk of local stress-induced micro-damage.

Keywords

Total knee arthroplasty , finite element method , knee prosthesis

Ethical Statement

Investigation of Material Effects in Knee Prosthesis Design Using Finite Element Method (FEM) since Finite Element Method is used in this publication, ethical approval is not required.

References

• Longo UG, Stelitano G, Salvatore G, et al. FEA applications for orthopedics: an overview. In: Koh J, Zaffagnini S, Kuroda R, et al. eds, Orthopaedic Biomechanics in Sports Medicine. Springer, Cham. 2021;99-107.
• Heller MO. Chapter 32 - Finite element analysis in orthopedic biomechanics. Innocenti B, Galbusera F, eds, Human orthopaedic biomechanics, Academic Press, 2022;637-58.
• Taylor M, Prendergast PJ. Four decades of finite element analysis of orthopaedic devices. J Biomech. 2015;48:767-78.
• Pfeiffer FM. The use of finite element analysis to enhance research and clinical practice in orthopedics. J Knee Surg. 2016;29:149-58.
• Saha S, Roychowdhury A. Application of the finite element method in orthopedic implant design. J Long Term Eff Med Implants. 2009;19:55-82.
• Harrysson OL, Hosni YA, Nayfeh JF. Custom-designed orthopedic implants evaluated using finite element analysis of patient-specific computed tomography data: femoral-component case study. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2007;8:91.
• Sharma V, Chowdhury S, Keshavan N, Basu B. Six decades of UHMWPE in reconstructive surgery. International Materials Reviews. 2023;68:46-81.
• Arab AZE, Merdji A, Benaissa A, et al. Finite-element analysis of a lateral femoro-tibial impact on the total knee arthroplasty. Comput Methods Programs Biomed. 2020;192:105446.
• Dong Y, Zhang Z, Dong W, et al. An optimization method for implantation parameters of individualized TKA tibial prosthesis based on finite element analysis and orthogonal experimental design. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2020;21:165.
• Loi I, Stanev D, Moustakas K. Total knee replacement: subject-specific modeling, finite element analysis, and evaluation of dynamic activities. Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2021;9:648356.
• Kumar D, Maiti R. Finite element analysis of knee implant materials under static and cyclic loading conditions: an analysis of failures (November 24, 2024). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5035622 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5035622
• Bhandarkar S, Dhatrak P. Optimization of a knee implant with different biomaterials using finite element analysis. 2022;59:459-67.
• Mestar A, Zahaf S, Zina N, Boutaous A. Development and validation of a numerical model for the mechanical behavior of knee prosthesis analyzed by the finite elements method. Journal of Biomimetics, Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering. 2018;37:12-42.
• Koh YG, Park KM, Kang KT. The biomechanical effect of tibiofemoral conformity design for patient-specific cruciate retainging total knee arthroplasty using computational simulation. J Exp Orthop. 2019;6:23.