Preparation and Tribological Investigations of PVA-H/HA Composites

Abstract

Poly (vinyl alcohol)/Hydroxyapatite (PVA-H/HA) composite prepared from aqueous solution of the polymer and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) by freezing and thawing method are developing to repair or replace articular cartilage. In the present study, the tribological behaviors of this composite were investigated in a three-factor, three-level designed experiment using an improved four-ball tester. Factors include sliding velocity, applied load and HA content of composite. Friction coefficient of the PVA-H/HA was found to depend significantly on load and sliding velocity, while HA content had small effects on the friction coefficient of PVA-HA composite in our investigation. We also found that wear loss of PVA-H/HA increased sharply with the increasing loads and HA content of specimen.