The Phan-Thien and Tanner Model Applied to the Lubrication of Knee Prostheses.

This work aims to provide a contribution to determine a proper model for the study of fluid film lubrication for the reduction of knee prostheses failure due to polyethylene wear. The Phan-Thien and Tanner (PTT) rheological law and the elastic deformation of the articular surfaces were considered in this modeling. The governing equations were solved numerically for different geometries and different Weissenberg numbers.