Abstract
Fatigue due to cyclic stresses is one of the predominant failure modes seen in retrieved tibial polyethylene components. There is no clear understanding of the influence of knee kinematics on wear seen in retrieved samples. Magnitude, direction and location of the contact load at the tibial surface were taken from the measurement obtained from gait analysis of a patient with a total knee replacement and was input into a three dimensional finite element model of a tibial component. The analyses showed that stress fluctuations and stress reversals occur both on the surface and just below the surface in the posterior region of the component. Residual stresses were produced due to plastic deformation in the posterior contact region of the component.
