Fretting Corrosion Testing of Modular Implants – Femoral Stem-Head Interface - ASTM F1875

Normative References  

ASTM F1875: Standard Practice for Fretting Corrosion Testing of Modular Implant Interfaces: Hip Femoral Head-Bore and Cone Taper Interface

This standard specifies the testing, analysis, and characterization methods for evaluating the mechanical stability of hip implants' bore and cone interface of the head and stem junction subjected to cyclic loading. Thereby, fretting corrosion is measured.
Two methods are part of this standard, a quantitative analysis (method I; long-term evaluation) and a qualitative assessment (method IIb; short-term evaluation).

Method I is used to determine the fretting corrosion behavior in the long-term. The interface surface damage and generation of corrosion products are determined through optical evaluation (micro- and macroscopic, SEM/EDX) and particle and ion concentration analyses of the test solution after cyclic loading.

Method IIb is a short-term electrochemical evaluation (current measurement) to compare different designs and surface treatments. This requires extremely precise testing equipment and a well-shielded test environment.