Optimal Material Selection for Knee Implant Using Novel Fuzzy-PSI and Hybrid SWARA-CoCoSo Method

Abstract

Total knee replacement (TKR) is a biomedical science marvel that improves human life. Knee implants are frequently required when serious knee deterioration and pain, especially from arthritis, substantially interfere with day-to-day functioning. In contrast to conventional metallic or synthetic implants, natural fiber composites are lightweight, biocompatible, and sustainable, improving patient comfort and lowering risks. However, the selection of adequate fiber composite material meeting desired characteristics requirement of TKR is one of the challenging and troublesome tasks. In the same context, this study proposed a hybrid multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) optimization method for efficient selection of best natural fiber composites materials meeting the criteria of tibial component in TKR. The aim of this paper is to select the best alternative knee implant composite material based on the physical, mechanical, thermal and tribological properties of a new nano silicon carbide filled jute/kenaf/kevlar hybrid filled ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) composite. To this end, a novel hybrid fuzzy preference selection index method (f-PSI) is presented in conjunction with stepwise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) and combined compromise solution (CoCoSo). Six hybrid composites were created using the compression moulding process by adding different amounts of nano silicon carbide (3wt%) and reinforcement fibers (0wt%, 2wt%, 4wt%, 6wt%, 8wt%, and 10wt%). The findings of the physical characterization demonstrate that as the weight percentage of the reinforcement increases, the density and void contents increase steadily. Hardness, tensile strength, flexural strength, and impact strength all increase up to 10 wt% of reinforcement, according to the mechanical characterization data. Thermal characteristics shown that maximum weight loss of 16.47 g for 10 wt% fiber content, while the maximum wear rate obtained for 4 wt% fibre content, or 9.92555e-5 mm³/Nm. Sensitivity analysis and comparison with the existing fuzzy-PSI and SWARA-CoCoSo methods were conducted to validate and assess the robustness of the suggested approach. The study takes into account nine evaluation parameters including density, tensile strength, hardness, flexural strength, impact strength, weight loss, glass transition temperature range, loss modulus and specific wear rate in order to determine the optimal material for knee implants. The best combination of all the features for the specified knee implant application was identified in A4 (including 8 wt% jute/kenaf/kevlar filled UHMWPE composite material), according to the findings of the analysis. Accordingly, suggested biocomposites represent a promising material for future orthopaedic technological research and development.