An advanced surface engineering process combining micro-texture with a plasma carburising process was produced on CoCrMo femoral head, and their tribological properties were evaluated by the cutting-edge pendulum hip joint simulator coupled with thin film colorimetric interferometry. FESEM and GDOES showed that precipitation-free C S-phase with a uniform case depth of 10μm was formed across the micro-textures after duplex treatment. Hip simulator tests showed that the friction coefficient was reduced by 20% for micro-metre sized texture, and the long-term tribological property of microtexture was enhanced by the C-supersaturated crystalline microstructure formed on the surface of duplex treated CoCrMo, thereby enhancing biotribological durability significantly. In-situ colorimetric interferometry confirmed that the maximum film thickness around texture area was 530nm, indicating that the additional lubricant during sliding motion might provide exceptional bearing life.

Central European Institute of Technology Brno 602 00 Czech Republic

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Brno University of Technology Brno 616 69 Czech Republic

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Brno University of Technology Brno 616 69 Czech Republic; Central European Institute of Technology Brno 602 00 Czech Republic

NETME Centre Institute of Materials Science and Engineering Brno University of Technology 616 69 Czech Republic

School of Metallurgy and Materials Birmingham University B15 2TT UK

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