title: Cyclic fatigue-crack propagation, stress-corrosion, and fracture-toughness behavior in pyrolytic carbon-coated graphite for prosthetic heart valve applications.
abstract: Fracture-mechanics tests were performed to characterize the cyclic fatigue, stress-corrosion cracking, and fracture-toughness behavior of a pyrolytic carbon-coated graphite composite material used in the manufacture of cardiac valve prostheses. Testing was carried out using compact tension C(T) samples containing "atomically" sharp precracks, both in room-temperature air and principally in a simulated physiological environment of 37 degrees C Ringer's lactate solution. Under sustained (monotonic) loads, the composite exhibited resistance-curve behavior, with a fracture toughness (KIc) between 1.1 and 1.9 MPa square root of m, and subcritical stress-corrosion crack velocities (da/dt) which were a function of the stress intensity K raised to the 74th power (over the range approximately 10(-9) to over 10(-5) m/s). More importantly, contrary to common perception, under cyclic loading conditions the composite was found to display true (cyclic) fatigue failure in both environments; fatigue-crack growth rates (da/dN) were seen to be a function of the 19th power of the stress-intensity range delta K (over the range approximately 10(-11) to over 10(-8) m/cycle). As subcritical crack velocities under cyclic loading were found to be many orders of magnitude faster than those measured under equivalent monotonic loads and to occur at typically 45% lower stress-intensity levels, cyclic fatigue in pyrolytic carbon-coated graphite is reasoned to be a vital consideration in the design and life-prediction procedures of prosthetic devices manufactured from this material.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Mineral Engineering, University of California, Berkeley 94720.
authors.forename: R O
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Ritchie
authors.forename: R H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Dauskardt
authors.forename: W K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Brendzel
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002244:Carbon; D006108:Graphite; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D008422:Materials Testing; D011475:Prosthesis Failure; D013314:Stress, Mechanical
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002244:Carbon; D006108:Graphite