Computer simulation of polymethylmethacrylate bone cement flow through femoral canal and cancellous bone

Abstract

Polymethylmethacrylate bone cements have been widely used in orthopaedic surgery for the fixation of artificial joints such as hip replacement. Understanding the flow of cement is crucial to the success of the process, as the cement flow determines the final shape of the filling and consequently the strength and durability of the structure. A mathematical model based on the finite element method is developed to simulate the flow of cement through femoral canal and cancellous bone. The cement is assumed as a power law non-Newtonian fluid and its flow in femoral canal is governed by the non-linear Navier--Stokes equations. The cancellous bone is modelled as a porous media and the Brinkman equations are used to describe the flow of cement through the bone. Based on the model developed, various numerical experiments were carried out to investigate the influence of cement property and surgical conditions on flow pattern, pressure distribution and shear rate.