Residual Stress in Bone: A Parametric Study

A preliminary study was conducted to evaluate the parametric dependence of the residual stress distributions in bone that result from an abrasive air-jet surface treatment. Specifically, the influence of particle size and shape used in the treatment on the residual stress, propensity of embedding particles and material removal were studied. Rectangular beams of cortical bone were prepared from bovine femurs and treated with aluminum oxide and glass particles with different treatment angles. Residual stresses within the bone were quantified in terms of the radius of curvature of the bone specimens measured before and after the treatments, as well as a function of time to quantify decay in the stress. The sub-surface distribution was also examined using the layer removal technique. Results showed that the particle size and shape could be used to control the amount of material removal and the magnitude of residual stress within the treated surfaces. An increase in size of the glass particles resulted in an increase in the residual stress and a decrease in material removed during the treatment. The magnitude of residual stress ranged from 22 MPa to nearly 44 MPa through modulation of the particle qualities (size and shape). A microscopic examination of the treated surfaces suggests that the residual stresses resulted primarily from near-surface deformation.