Investigation of Compression and Hardness for UHMWPE Bio-composites as Internal Bone Plate Fixation

Bone plates are essential for bone fracture healing because they modify the biomechanical microenvironment at the fracture site to provide the necessary mechanical fixation for fracture fragments. This paper addresses the use of composite bone plates in healing long-bone fractures such as transverse fractures of the femur. However, stress shielding in the bone due to metal plates can be reduced by designing implants with Bio-composites that involve Ultra high molecular polyethylene reinforced (UHMWPE) with Nano hydroxyapatite (n-HA) and Nano titanium dioxide (n-TiO2) particles at different weight fraction (0,1.5,2.5,3.5and 4. 5%) and 5% of carbon and Kevlar fibers. FRIT spectrum was used to identify the incorporation between the matrix and Nano particles, and the shifting in main peaks confirmed the good cross-linking within the composite structure. The specimens thus prepared were subjected to a compression test, hardness test, and density. The results indicated that UHMWPE+4.5%n-HA+CF hybrid biocomposite has the highest compressive strength and hardness properties. In contrast, UHMWPE+4.5%TiO2+CF has the highest density, which increased with increasing percentages of weight fraction of Nano-particles, where the compression strength 53 MPa, hardness property ranges 65.6 shore D, and density 1.09 (g/cm3). According to the current study's findings, it is possible to create bio-composites as internal fixation device with improved performance by placing different fiber reinforcements.