The influences of electrical potential and surface finish on the fatigue life of surgical implant materials

The influence of both imposed anodic potential in Ringer's solution and surface finish on the fatigue lives of annealed 316 type stainless steel and annealed pure titanium were measured and statistically compared to fatigue data run in air. The applied potentials in simulated extracellular fluid approximated conditions existing within the body while also producing the types of surface defects actually found on removed long time implants within the time interval of the accelerated R. R. Moor fatigue tests. Differentiating tests were run at single levels of applied cyclic stress well above the endurance limits. In Ringer's solution, the fatigue life of the 316 stainless steel decreased with increasing applied potential, and at +500 mV was significantly shorter than when run in air. At each condition, the 316 stainless steel was independent of initial surface finish. In contrast, the fatigue life of titanium improved rapidly with increasingly fine surface finishes. Furthermore, compared to air, the application of +500 mV in Ringer's solution improved the life of the rough surface finished material and markedly increased to number of cycles to failure for the electopolished specimens.