Mechanical testing of metallic biomaterials

When designing or manufacturing biomedical devices, certain properties are of particular interest; at the forefront of these are those properties fundamentally related to the deformation of the material. Known as the material’s mechanical properties, these are inescapable considerations in designing a biomedical device; after all, a structural material that cannot perform its structural role is pointless! Indeed, in many cases these attributes have been the dominant factors in biomaterial selection, more so even then the biological or chemical interactions with the target environment. This has been particularly important for metals, as they display a superior combination of mechanical properties over other common substances, such as polymers or ceramics, despite oftentimes deleterious physiological interactions. Still, mechanical properties remain important even in light of increased focus on other properties, and so it necessary for the materials engineer to understand the characterization of these properties in materials. Here, it is first helpful to have some understanding of the underlying principles of deformation.