Mechanical Assessment of Non-metallic Composite Clamps Designed for Orthopaedic Surgery

Abstract

Clamps have recently gained interest due to possibility of their use in low-invasiveness operations. The work presents the mechanical tests made on connecting clamps manufactured from carbon fiber—epoxy resin composite (CF/Epoxy). The CF/Epoxy unidirectional composites were prepared with the use of different carbon fiber amount and their elasticity was analyzed. Mechanical characteristics of composite clamps was compared to typical metallic clamps. Stress relaxation tests were made on the composite clamps in simulated body fluid (SBF) at 37°C to determine their mechanical stability. It was shown that the mechanical strength of composite clamps is similar to that of metallic clamps, whereas their stiffness is comparable to bone tissue. The average variations of mechanical stability of the composite clamps kept in SBF under a constant strain were not significant at the end of 6 months aging.