Mohsen Mosleh, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor

Phone: 202-806-6622
Email: [email protected]

Research Topics
Development of Polymeric Homocomposites, Wear of Total Knee and Hip Joint Replacements, Surface Engineering, Manufacturing Processes

Summary of Recent Research
A common problem in the use of conventional composites is the debonding at the fiber/matrix interface due to chemical and mechanical incompatibility between the matrix and the fiber. A polyethylene homocomposite consisting of an ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber and matrix has been developed. The UHMWPE fibers have a significantly higher strength and a higher melting temperature due to their highly oriented molecules. The homocomposite is manufactured by compression molding of the mixture of UHMWPE resin and chopped fibers at the resin melting temperature. The mechanical and tribological properties of the homocomposite have significantly improved compared with those of UHMWPE. For instance, the wear resistance of the homocomposite is improved by more than 500% in dry sliding. One application of polyethylene homocomposites is in joint prostheses. In these joints, the particles produced by wear elicit an environmental response, terminating the life of hip and knee joint prostheses. There are many factors that affects the frictional and wear behavior of joint prostheses. These factors include surface characteristics of the bearing surfaces, sterilization techniques, materials, and are being studied.

Besides the specific projects described above, the general topics of research interest include tiobology, polymer and composite processing, CAD/CAM, and robotics.

Recent Publications
Mosleh, M., Suh, N., and Arinez, J., "Manufacture and properties of a polyethylene homocomposite", Composites - Part A: applied science and manufacturing, Vol. 29A, pp. 611-617, 1998.

Suh, N., Mosleh, M., and Arinez, J., "Tribology of Homocomposites", Wear, Vol. 214, No. 2, pp. 231-236, 1998.

Mosleh, M., and Pakkianathan, S., "A polyethylene homocomposite for joint prostheses" Proceedings of the 24th Annual Meeting, Society for Biomaterials, San Diego, California, pp. 471, 1998.

Mosleh, M., "An UHMWPE homocomposite for joint prostheses", ASTM STP 1346, Alternative Bearing Surfaces in Total Joint Replacements, Eds. J. J. Jacobs, and T. L. Craig, pp. 256-264, 1998.

Jahanian, S., and Mosleh, M., "On the mathematical modeling of phase transformation of steel during quenching", Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance, Accepted for publication, 1997.