Hybrid surface implants: Influence of residual stress on mechanical behavior, evaluated by finite element analysis and validation by fatigue tests

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the influence of different surface roughness and residual stress of hybrid surface implants on their behavior and mechanical failure.

Methods: Three types of implants with different surface roughness were used as specimens: smooth, rough, and hybrid. A diffractometer was used to determine the residual stress of the implants according to their different surface treatment. These results were used as an independent variable in a finite element analysis that compared the three specimens to determine the von Mises stress transferred to the implants and supporting bone and the resulting microdeformations. Flexural strength and fatigue behavior tests were performed to compare the results of the three types of implants.

Results: Higher residual stress values were found for rough surfaces (p < 0.05, Student's t-test) compared to smooth surfaces, and both types of stress were different for the two types of hybrid implant surfaces. Finite element analysis found different von Mises stress and microdeformation results, both at the level of the implant and the bone, for the three types of implants under study. These results were correlated with the different flexural strength behaviors (lower resistance for hybrids and higher for rough surfaces, p < 0.05) and fatigue behavior (the rough implant had the longest fatigue life, while the hybrid implant exhibited the worst fatigue behavior).

Significance: The results show a trend toward a less favorable mechanical behavior of the hybrid implants related to the retention of different residual stresses caused by the surface treatment.

Keywords: Fatigue behavior; Finite element analysis; Flexion resistance; Hybrid Implants; Implant surface roughness; Residual stress; SLA implants; Titanium machined surface.