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In recent years, thermoplastic composites (TPCs) have been increasingly used for
aerospace and automotive applications. But also other industrial sectors, such as the
medical technology, have discovered the benefits of this material class. Compared to
thermoset composites, TPCs can be recycled more easily, remelted, and welded. In
addition to that, TPC parts can be produced economically and efficiently. As an example,
short cycle times and high production rates of TPCs can be realised with the
injection moulding processing technology. Injection moulded parts have the advantage
that function integration is feasible with relatively little effort.
However, these parts are characterised by discontinuous fibre reinforcement. Fibres
are randomly distributed within the part and fibre orientation can show significant local
variations. Whereas the highest stiffness and strength values of the material are
achieved parallel to fibre orientation, the lowest values are present in transverse direction.
As a consequence, structural mechanical properties of injection moulded
discontinuous fibre reinforced parts are lower compared to their continuous fibre reinforced
counterparts. Continuous fibre reinforced components show excellent specific
mechanical properties. However, their freedom in geometrical product design is restricted.
The aim of this work is to extend the applicability of TPCs for structural mass products
due to the realisation of a high-strength interface between discontinuous and
continuous fibre reinforced material. A hybrid structure with unique properties is produced
by overmoulding a continuous unidirectional endless carbon fibre (CF) reinforced
polyether ether ketone (PEEK) insert with discontinuous short CF reinforced
PEEK. This approach enables the manufacturing of structural mass products in short
cycle times which require both superior structural mechanical properties and sufficient
freedom in product design. However, sufficient interface strength between the discontinuous
and continuous component is required.
This research is based on the application case of a pedicle screw system which is
a spinal implant used for spine stabilisation and fusion. Since the 1990s, CF-PEEK
has been successfully used for spinal cages, and recently also for pedicle screws and
pedicle screw systems. Compared to metallic implants, CF-PEEK implants show several
advantages, such as the reduction of stress shielding, the prevention of artefacts
in medical imaging technologies (X-ray, computer tomography scan, or magnetic resonance
imaging) or the avoidance of backscattering during radiotherapy. Pedicle screws,
which are used in the lumbar spine region, are subjected to high forces and moments.
Therefore, a hybrid composite pedicle screw was developed which is based on the
overmoulding process described before.
Different adherence tests were conducted to characterise the interface strength between
short and endless CF reinforced PEEK. However, no standardised test method
existed for interface strength characterisation of overmoulded structures. Sufficient interface
strength could only be achieved if a cohesive interface was formed. Cohesive
interface formation due to the melting of the surface of the endless CF reinforced PEEK
insert after contact with the molten mass required an insert pre-heating temperature of
at least 260 °C prior to overmoulding. Because no standardised test method existed
for interface strength characterisation of overmoulded structures, a novel test body was
developed. This cylinder pull-out specimen did not require any relevant rework steps
after manufacturing so that the interface strength could be directly tested after overmoulding.
Pre-heating of the endless CF reinforced PEEK inserts resulted in a 73%
increase in interface strength compared to non-pre-heated inserts.
In addition to that, a parametric finite element pedicle screw-bone model was developed.
By parametric optimisation, the optimal hybrid composite pedicle screw design
in terms of pull-out resistance was found. Within the underlying design space, the
difference in screw stability between the worst and the best screw design was approximately
12 %. The resulting design recommendations had to be opposed to the
manufacturing requirements to define the final screw design. The moulds of the injection
moulding machine were manufactured according to this design so that the hybrid
composite pedicle screw could be produced.
The findings of extensive material and interface characterisation were crucial for the
achievement of a cohesive interface between insert and overmould so that superior
structural mechanical properties of the hybrid composite pedicle screw could be
achieved. For example, the bending strength of hybrid composite screws was approximately
48% higher than the bending strength of discontinuous short CF reinforced
PEEK screws. Additionally, fatigue resistance was enhanced by the hybrid screw configuration
so that the risk of premature pedicle screw failure could be reduced. In the
breaking torque test, hybrid composite screws showed a reduction of 11% in their
breaking torque values compared to their discontinuous fibre reinforced counterparts.
However, not only in this test but also in the quasi-static and cyclic bending test, structural
integrity of the hybrid composite screws could be maintained which is important
for implant components.