Usage of digital speckle correlation method by determining fracture properties of PMMA bone cement for clinical application

Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) bone cement has been widely used in orthopaedic surgery. Therefore, a precise and accurate knowledge of its fracture properties is essential. Traditional fracture tests performed with tensile machine supported with finite element analysis do not provide an accurate and precise statement about fracture behaviour of materials. The fracture test techniques can be enhanced with a noncontact optical measurement method, named digital speckle correlation, which is implemented in this work to correct the measured results. All required experimental setup and conditions is explained. Experimental results supported by finite element analysis and verified with this auxiliary method are demonstrated.