Abstract
The paper presents the results of compressive tests performed on Biomet® orthopedic bone cement currently used in arthroplasty. By direct molding of the cement, cylindrical test specimens were manufactured with cross section diameter of 6 mm and height of 12 mm. The stress–strain curves of all specimens tested exhibited similar linear elastic regime with a local maximum followed by yielding. The average compressive strength of the samples is 91.55 MPa, while the average modulus of elasticity was calculated at 1483 MPa. The obtained results can be used in order to asses the fatigue life-time of this type of bone cement. Keywords: total hip replacement, bone cement, PMMA, compression, elastic modulus, Poisson’s ratio