Experimental and analytical investigation of the thermal necrosis in high-speed drilling of bone

Bone loss due to thermo necrosis may weaken the purchase of surgically placed screws and pins, causing them to loosen postoperatively. The heat generated during the bone drilling is proportional to cutting speed and force and may be partially dissipated by the blood and tissue fluids, and somehow carried away by the chips formed. Increasing cutting speed will reduce cutting force and machining time. Therefore, it is of interest to study the effects of the increasing cutting speed on bone drilling characteristics. In this article, the effects of the increasing cutting speed ranging from 500 up to 18,000 r/min on the thrust force and the temperature rise are studied for bovine femur bone. The results of this study reveal that the high-speed drilling of 6000–7000 r/min may effectively reduce the two parameters of maximum cortical temperature and duration of exposure at temperatures above the allowable levels, which in turn reduce the probability of thermal necrosis in the drill site. This is due to the reduction of the cutting force and the increase in the chip disposal speed. However, more increases in the drill bit rotational speed result in an increase in the amount of temperature elevation, not because of sensible change in drilling force but a considerable increase in friction among the chips, drill bit and the hole walls.