FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF INTRAMEDULLARY NAIL DESIGNS

Abstract

Intramedullary nailing is a surgical method of internal fracture fixation used in long bones such as the femur. There are a large number of commercially available intramedullary nails. The most common types are stainless steel cylindrical tube nails and titanium alloy solid nails. In this study, the loading on the femur for various activities are studied. Finite element method (FEM) has been employed to investigate and understand stress distributions on the nails of different designs. The focus is on cross-sectional shapes of hollow and solid nails. Stress distributions on non-slotted and slotted hollow nails are compared. Stress distributions on the distal hole for different distal nailing have also been examined. FEM results reveal the main factors that influence the stress distribution on the nails with different design. Finally, The study gives some possible scope to do further study in this area.