Date of Graduation

5-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Biomedical Engineering

Advisor/Mentor

Zou, Min

Committee Member/Reader

Quinn, Kyle

Committee Member/Second Reader

Wolchok, Jeffrey C.

Committee Member/Third Reader

Balachandran, Kartik

Committee Member/Fourth Reader

Muldoon, Timothy

Abstract

Artificial orthopedic implants such as hip joints suffer from excessive wear due to excess friction between the polyethylene and cobalt-chromium-molybdenum surfaces of the device. This increase in friction causes a fraction of them to give out within ten years. Therefore, to minimize the probability of this happening, recent research has been conducted regarding laser surface texturing of the cobalt-chromium-molybdenum alloy components of artificial joints. These surface textures serve to mimic the native lubrication mechanisms of cartilage in natural joints, which, in a natural joint, lowers the friction. However, the production of these laser surface textures is still a field of research in its nascent stages and requires a highly precise procedure for the production of textures high enough in quality to reduce friction. In addition to this, the most effective textures in the reduction of friction are micro-dimples of varying shapes which interact with the joint synovial fluid in a way which reduces wear. Because this field of study is still a fairly new one, most research has not advanced to producing these textures on the implant, itself, but instead on planar samples to solidify the proper parameters for the micro-dimples. Following this research direction, this project studied the optimization of a 32-Oxford A5 Femtosecond Laser in the production of high-resolution micro-dimpling patterns on a sample disk of cobalt-chromium-molybdenum.

Keywords

Micro-dimples; Tribology; Friction; Femtosecond; Laser Surface Texturing; Laser

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