Original Article

Proc IMechE Part H:

J Engineering in Medicine
1–12
Experimental and analytical Ó IMechE 2014
Reprints and permissions:
investigation of the thermal necrosis in sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/0954411914524933

high-speed drilling of bone pih.sagepub.com

Ehsan Shakouri, Mohammad H Sadeghi, Mehdi Maerefat

and Shaghayegh Shajari

Abstract
Bone loss due to thermo necrosis may weaken the purchase of surgically placed screws and pins, causing them to loosen
postoperatively. The heat generated during the bone drilling is proportional to cutting speed and force and may be par-
tially dissipated by the blood and tissue fluids, and somehow carried away by the chips formed. Increasing cutting speed
will reduce cutting force and machining time. Therefore, it is of interest to study the effects of the increasing cutting
speed on bone drilling characteristics. In this article, the effects of the increasing cutting speed ranging from 500 up to
18,000 r/min on the thrust force and the temperature rise are studied for bovine femur bone. The results of this study
reveal that the high-speed drilling of 6000–7000 r/min may effectively reduce the two parameters of maximum cortical
temperature and duration of exposure at temperatures above the allowable levels, which in turn reduce the probability
of thermal necrosis in the drill site. This is due to the reduction of the cutting force and the increase in the chip disposal
speed. However, more increases in the drill bit rotational speed result in an increase in the amount of temperature ele-
vation, not because of sensible change in drilling force but a considerable increase in friction among the chips, drill bit
and the hole walls.

Keywords
Bone drilling, thermal necrosis, temperature changes, thrust force, high-speed drilling

Date received: 23 August 2013; accepted: 27 January 2014

Introduction for retaining screws. In addition, if the drill burns the

bone, the thread does not anchor properly, which
Bone drilling is an essential part of internal fixation in results in the weakened contact of implants with bone
orthopedic surgery. During bone drilling, heat is gener- and possible loosening of rigid fixation. Consequently,
ated mainly as a result of chip cutting process and plas- the loss of bone at the drilling site could neutralize any
tic deformation as well as the friction between rake face beneficial effects of this type of device. For instance,
of drill bit and chips. The second heating source is the the implant failure rate for thermal osteosynthesis of
friction between chips, drill bit and the bone. The heat lower leg is 2.1%–7.1%.2–4 Thus, thermal bone injury
generated during bone drilling may be partially dissi- must be minimized during any procedure.2,3,5–7
pated by blood and tissue fluids, and somewhat carried In fact, the effect of heat on bone tissue depends on
away by the formed chips. In addition, some heat may the temperature and duration of exposure. Some
be conducted into the host bone. However, bone is a
researchers indicate a threshold below which there is
poor conductor of heat, with the thermal conductivity
little effect, and above this level, it is thought to be an
of fresh cortical bone at approximately 0.38–2.3 J/m s
Arrhenius type of relationship between temperature of
K.1 It means that bone could not dissipate the gener-
ated heat immediately, and consequently, temperature
in the drilled site is increased. The elevated tempera- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University,
tures as a result of such exposure may lead to bone Tehran, Iran
alkaline phosphate denaturing, cellular death and ther-
Corresponding author:
mal necrosis, which in turn can cause infection and Ehsan Shakouri, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tarbiat Modares
reduce mechanical strength. This is important in ortho- University, P.O. Box: 14115-143, Tehran, Iran.
pedics, since most drilled holes are subsequently tapped Email: [email protected]
2 Proc IMechE Part H: J Engineering in Medicine

tissue and duration of exposure. Tests on animal bone the most important role in decreasing the temperature
have shown that for every rise of 1 °C, there is a reduc- rise. Karaca et al.12 performed an in vitro study on
tion in the duration of exposure by a factor of two for human bone and observed that the temperature
the same biological effects. To explain more, if a tem- increases with an increase in drill speed but decreases in
perature of 47 °C, which is maintained for 1 min, high feed rates and high applied drill force. Augustin et
associates with impaired osteogenic potential, then a al.3 investigated the spatial distribution of cumulative
temperature of 48 °C, which is applied for 30 s, pro- heat in bone drilling by infrared thermography. Their
duces similar effects. This relation means that the criti- results showed that the increase in bone temperature
cal exposure time falls rapidly as the temperature has irregular shape with a maximum increase along the
increases, and for temperatures above 53 °C, an expo- cortical bone, which is the most compact component of
sure time of less than 1 s reduces osteogenic potential. the bone. In another study, they reviewed the cortical
Many factors have been reported to influence the bone drilling and thermal osteonecrosis in a review
temperature rise during surgical preparation, including article.4
bone quality, drill geometry, drilling depth, sharpness In another study, thermal modeling was investigated.
of the cutting tools, drilling speed, pressure applied to Davidson and James5 developed a thermo-mechanical
the drill, use of graduated versus one-step drilling, inter- model from machining theory to predict the tempera-
mittent versus continuous drilling, use of internal or ture rise and thermal injury in bone during a drilling
external irrigation, mechanical properties, quality on operation. Lee et al.13,14 presented a new thermal model
drill performance and material selection. for bone drilling, and in another study, they developed
The process of bone drilling generates heat in the a mechanistic model for prediction of thrust forces and
drill and in the bone. The rate of heat generation torques during bone drilling.
depends on various cutting parameters, which in turn Importance of the wear of drill bit in bone drilling
influence the temperature of the tool, bone and bone was considered by Allan et al.,6 who suggested that
chips. The literature on bone drilling contains various drills should be used for a limited duration or a limited
effects of the drilling parameters. Hillery and Shuaib1 number of holes, after which they should be discarded.
studied the influence of the drill geometry and cutting Because blunt drills may require increase in cutting
speed on temperature changes. Their findings showed force, which in turn may contribute to excessive fric-
that there was no significant difference in temperature tional heat, it leads to greater maximum temperature
produced when drilling by the tools with different point rise and longer duration of temperature rise.
angles. Also it was noted that speeds from 800 to In other studies, it has been mentioned that the use
1440 r/min should be used when drilling with a stan- of coolants minimizes the temperature rise during bone
dard surgical twist drill bit (3.2 mm) to provide the best drilling, although it is not applicable due to the danger
cutting conditions and maintaining temperatures at a of infection in the affected area. Cem Sener et al.7
manageable level. Bachus et al.8 investigated the effects showed that in drilling of bovine mandible, external
of applied drilling force on the temperatures of cortical irrigation can provide sufficient cooling, and more heat
tissues and their duration near the drilling site. Their is generated in the superficial part of the drilling cavity
results demonstrated that by applying a larger force on than the bottom. Furthermore, Augustin et al.15 in
the drill, both the maximum cortical temperatures and another research observed that a two-step drill does
their duration above critical level may be effectively not have any advantage over a standard twist drill of
reduced, decreasing the incidence of thermal necrosis in the same diameter, and internally cooled drill causes a
surrounding cortical bone. Davidson and James9 mea- significantly smaller increase in bone temperature dur-
sured thermal conductivity of bovine cortical bone and ing drilling with water.
concluded that it can be treated as thermally isotropic. From the above-mentioned literature, it is found
Karmani10 reviewed effects of drilling parameters and that many researchers have attempted to minimize heat
drill bit geometry on temperature rise. Udiljak et al.11 generation during drilling via increase in cutting speed,
studied temperature rise during bone drilling in spora- but there has not been consensus on the best way to
dic points of cutting speed and concluded that while the accomplish this. There are different reports on the opti-
increase in the drill cutting speed during classic drilling mal speed for bone drilling. Researchers have primarily
results in the increase in the bone drilling temperature, focused on low drilling speed (up to 3000 r/min) and
in high-speed drilling the bone temperature almost does have concluded that the increase in drilling speed
not change with the increase in the cutting speed. High- increases bone temperature. However, this is only true
speed drilling slightly decreases the bone temperature up to the drilling speed of approximately 10,000 r/min.
rise as compared to classic drilling, but the maximum Some studies indicated that the dependence of tempera-
temperature is not below the critical level. Augustin et ture increase on the drill speed does not follow a simple
al.2 found that the increase in drill diameter and drill linear function, but it is a function that includes
speed increases bone temperature, but changes in drill increase, peek, decrease and plateau. When drilling
point angle do not show significant influence on tem- speed exceeds 10,000 r/min, temperatures decrease.4
perature rise. With the increase in feed rate, increase in Finally, researchers have failed to show a relationship
bone temperature is lower, and external irrigation plays between drill speed and temperature rise. In fact, there
Shakouri et al. 3

are no definite recommendations available on the most Table 1. Cutting conditions.

suitable drilling speed for surgical practice.
Furthermore, the generated heat in drilling process Drilling process N (r/min) f (mm/min)
dissipates into the tool, bone and chips. The amount of Conventional 500–1000 50–100–150
heat generated by a cutting bur depends on the fric- (with 250 r/min step)
tional forces and shearing forces at the cutting edges. High speed 3000–18,000 50–100–150
Thus, the amount of heat generated is relative to the (with 1000 r/min step)
number of revolutions in the cutting material and the
number of cutting edges on the bur. Research in dental
areas has shown that an increase in rotational speed
reduces heat generation. However, dental burs operate
at speeds of 3600–7500 r/min compared to orthopedic
drills at 60–800 r/min.10
When drilling metals, the metal chips carry nearly
85% or more heat away.10 In comparison to drilling
metals, the temperature of the bone increases more dur-
ing the process due to its poor thermal capacity and
conductivity and also chips carry a smaller percentage
of the heat away. However, the chips still absorb a con-
siderable portion of the generated heat, so a faster chip
evacuation may reduce the overall amount of heat
transferred to the bone. In addition, high cutting speed
leads to a reduction in cutting forces. Hence, this study
focuses on the increase in chips disposal velocity by
employing high values of rotational speed of the drill
and decrease in cutting forces. The main goal of this
study is to determine and predict the optimal high cut-
ting speed for bone drilling by conducting experiments Figure 1. Schematic representation of bone drilling process
and temperature measurement in drilling site.
and using mathematical models and to show that the
increase in bone temperature during bone drilling pro-
cess would be minimal in this situation.
drilling and from 3000 to 18,000 r/min by 1000 r/min
steps for high-speed drilling (Table 1).
Experimentation Temperature changes during osseous drilling were
measured using a k-type thermocouple connected to a
Experimental setup PC by a thermometer Lutron TM-925. The thermocou-
A high-speed induction motor (model Arel TIP: ple was coated with thermo-conductive paste to restrict
ARFM 1Y-M3) with maximum rotational speed of heat loss. The standard distance between the drilling
18,000 r/min was used to provide an extensive range of site and thermocouple site was 0.5 mm, and the depth
cutting speeds. The motor was clamped on the bed of in which thermocouple was placed in the cortical bone
computer numerical control (CNC) lathe via an inter- was 3 mm, as described in other studies2,11 (Figure 1).
mediate platform and rotates at the desirable cutting Two drilling experiments were performed for each
speeds, individually. Cutting speed alternations during machining condition. The mean values of the thrust
osseous preparation were adjusted by using a driver forces and drilling temperatures for each cutting condi-
system connected to a personal computer (PC) by an tion were calculated for subsequent comparison with
interface. Experiments were conducted to investigate the mean values of the conventional drilling results.
the effects of high-speed cutting on the heat generation
and thrust force, during the drilling process. Each test
was performed using a Tabriz TME 40 horizontal Materials
CNC machine. A Kistler type 9275BA dynamometer In this experiment, the bovine femur samples were
was mounted under the workpiece fixture to record the obtained immediately after slaughter and used within a
thrust force during the process. The tools used were few hours. The bovine bone is of interest since it repli-
3.2 mm stainless steel 316L standard surgical twist cates the properties of human bone. The central parts
drills. The drill point and helix angles were 90° and 20°, of the bovine femoral diaphysis of posterior legs with
respectively. All drills were used 40 times before being the length of 75 mm were used, and 15 mm slices were
replaced with the new ones as recommended in the lit- cut from the mid-shaft using a band saw. Regions of
erature. The cutting conditions consist of drill feeds of bone less than 7 mm and greater than 8 mm were not
50, 100 and 150 mm/min, and speeds increase from 500 included in the study. The periosteum was reflected
to 1000 r/min by 250 r/min intervals for conventional away from the point, where the drill enters the bone.
4 Proc IMechE Part H: J Engineering in Medicine

Figure 4. Conventional drilling setup.

Figure 2. Fresh bovine bone: sample cut from mid-diaphysis.

Figure 3. Bone specimens after cutting.

Figure 5. High-speed drilling setup.
This prevents the chips from being forced under the
tissue and clogging the flutes of the drill2,3 (Figures 2 Shear rate calculation
and 3). For cutting bone, Davidson and James5 calculated the
The initial temperatures of bone and drill bit are not shear angle Ø using the Ernest–Merchant relationship,
significant factors, and increases in bone and screw which is based on work minimization
temperatures from room to body temperature (37 °C)
do not change the bone properties and do not influence 2f + b  a = 908 ð1Þ
the maximum temperature rise during drilling.2,3 The
where a is the rake angle of the cutting tool, and the
subsequent drilling was performed when bone and drill
friction angle, b, is equal to 0.644.5 The rake angle
temperatures returned to the room temperature. All
changes along the cutting lips of a drill. An expression
experiments were performed at room temperature
for a at a distance r from the rotational axis is as
without cooling as in real orthopedic surgery (Figures 4
follows
and 5).
ð2r=DÞ tan (u)
tan (a) = ð2Þ
sin (p)
Theory
where D is the drill bit diameter, u is the helix angle
In bone drilling process, the effective parameters on the and p is the half angle at the point. In this study, the
heat generation consist of cutting speed, feed rate, cut- average rake angle over the length of cutting edge was
ting force, drill bit geometry and material shear rate. In used. This average was calculated by numerically inte-
this study, the geometry of drill bit was constant, cut- grating equation (2) over the drill radius and dividing
ting speed and feed rate were input parameters and the the result by the radius.
value of cutting force was measured for each test. The velocity v also changes along the cutting edges
However, the bone shear rate is a mechanical property
and varies in each case. v = 2prN=60 ð3Þ
Shakouri et al. 5

where N is the rotational speed in r/min. To determine assuming that the temperature at that step remains con-
the shear rate, the manner in which the material stant over the time step and then integrating over the
deforms as it passes through the primary deformation time step. All the temperatures higher than critical level
zone, some researchers assume that the material is (47 °C) were involved in calculation of O.
removed by the tool travels through the deformation
zone along hyperbolic streamline of the form
Mathematical model for prediction of thrust force
y2 tan (a)  xy = a ð4Þ and temperature rise
where x and y are Cartesian coordinates with the origin In order to determine the relevant mathematical models
at the tool tip. The constant a determines the curvature for prediction of the thrust force and temperature rise
of a hyperbola; in the analysis, a is calculated from in bone drilling, 48 independent experiments were car-
ried out. Based on the experimental design, the mea-
t21 sures of thrust force and bone drilling temperature as
a= ð5Þ
16C2 sin4 (f)½tan (a) + cot (f) response variables are presented in the last two columns
of Table 2, and the values of input cutting parameters
where t1 is the non-deformed chip thickness, which, in as indicator variables for each experiment are shown in
this case, is the depth of cut per revolution, and C is a the left side of Table 2.
material constant. A value of C = 6 was used in this The relation between each response variable and the
study, according to Davidson and James.5 indicator variables is studied by nonlinear regression
Furthermore, t1 is calculated from models. The statistical analysis shows that the exponen-
tial function is the best mathematical model to explain
f=2
t1 = sin (p) ð6Þ the relation between the thrust force as dependent vari-
N=60
able and the influencing parameters with the greatest
Using the assumption of hyperbolic streamlines, the value of determination coefficient, that is, R2 = 0.830
maximum shear rate, g,
_ which occurs in the shear plane as equation (9)
is calculated from
F = exp( 0:039v + 0:008f + 3:42) ð9Þ
v
g_ = pffiffiffi 2 ð7Þ The mathematical model, which analyses the depen-
4 asin (f)½tan (a) + cot (f)3=2 dence of temperature rise on the influential drilling
parameters, obtained in the same way, has the determi-
nation coefficient of R2= 0.770
Thermal damage
The time–temperature dependent on thermal damage T = f (0:425) ð10Þ
can be expressed by the Arrhenius relationship As shown in equation (10), in the resultant fit equa-
(Henriques)5 tion, T is a function of feed rate (f ), that is, the most
ðt effective variable on temperature rise is feed rate.
O= AeEa =R(T + 273) dt ð8Þ However, increasing this variable is not practical, because
it increases the probability of bit fracture. Hence, in order
0
to achieve an appropriate fit equation, in which tempera-
where O represents the thermal injury incurred by the ture depends not only on the feed rate, but also on the
bone tissue from time 0 to time t, A is referred to as the cutting speed, the reverse regression and S-curve regres-
frequency factor (s21), Ea is the activation energy sion are selected, because it has the second highest deter-
(J/mol) and R is the universal gas constant. Since the mination coefficient (R2 = 0.767) after power regression
absolute temperature (K) must be used in the damage
388:3 1238:8
calculation, the conversion from Celsius to Kelvin is T= + + 24:37 ð11Þ
written explicitly in equation (8). v f
 
The Arrhenius parameters A and Ea are not avail- 12:5 33:78
T = exp 3:27  + ð12Þ
able for bone tissue damage, but because of the similar- v f
ity in thermal tolerance between bone and epithelial
tissue, the Arrhenius parameters presented by
Henriques for epithelial tissue (A = 3.1 3 10981/s, Results and discussion
Ea = 6.27 3 105 J/mol) are applied to bone. Henriques
determined that if the thermal injury is incurred by
Experimental results
epithelial tissue and O exceeds a value of 0.53, then The results of measuring the hole temperature change
thermal necrosis would be imminent. The same thresh- during conventional drilling are shown in Figure 6.
old value was applied to bone.
At each time step in the experiments (1 s), the incre-  Increase in the drill bit speed from 500 to
mental change in Arrhenius damage was calculated by 1000 r/min reduces the temperature of drilling sites
6 Proc IMechE Part H: J Engineering in Medicine

Table 2. Input cutting data and results of thrust force and temperature measurement.

Test number Cutting data

v (m/s) f (mm/min) g_ (1/s) F (N) T (°C)

1 30.159 50 10.0226 15.68 37.8

2 30.159 100 5.0113 22.91 26.8
3 30.159 150 3.3409 30.64 21.5
4 40.212 50 13.3634 15.19 40.2
5 40.212 100 6.6817 21.78 27.3
6 40.212 150 4.4545 27.83 23.9
7 50.265 50 16.7034 15 43.3
8 50.265 100 8.3521 21.08 27.9
9 50.265 150 5.5681 27.69 24.3
10 60.319 50 20.0451 13.58 46.6
11 60.319 100 10.0226 2.69 24.1
12 60.319 150 6.6817 3.11 22.1
13 70.372 50 23.386 2 44.1
14 70.372 100 11.693 2.48 21.5
15 70.372 150 7.7953 2.92 20.9
16 80.425 50 26.7268 1.89 33.3
17 80.425 100 13.3634 2.34 27.4
18 80.425 150 8.9089 2.77 29.9
19 90.478 50 30.0677 1.57 40.7
20 90.478 100 15.0338 2.31 38
21 90.478 150 10.0226 2.61 31
22 100.531 50 33.4085 1.92 52.2
23 100.531 100 16.7043 2.19 36.6
24 100.531 150 11.1362 2.51 36.7
25 110.584 50 36.7494 1.74 38.5
26 110.584 100 18.3747 2.09 29.3
27 110.584 150 12.2498 2.59 33.4
28 120.637 50 40.0903 1.77 41.5
29 120.637 100 20.0451 2.04 35.9
30 120.637 150 13.3634 2.41 28.1
31 130.690 50 43.4311 1.89 51.7
32 130.690 100 21.7156 2.29 40.8
33 130.690 150 14.477 2.4 26.4
34 140.743 50 46.772 1.49 54.9
35 140.743 100 23.386 1.7 33.2
36 140.743 150 15.5909 2.43 34.6
37 150.796 50 50.1128 1.69 51.1
38 150.796 100 25.0564 1.67 37
39 150.796 150 16.7043 2.52 30.4
40 160.850 50 53.4537 1.87 54.9
41 160.850 100 26.7268 1.7 28.1
42 160.850 150 17.8179 2.48 33
43 170.903 50 56.7945 1.31 49.7
44 170.903 100 28.3973 1.73 35.2
45 170.903 150 18.9513 1.99 32.7
46 180.956 50 60.1354 1.44 49.2
47 180.956 100 30.0677 1.6 37.2
48 180.956 150 20.0451 1.87 35.4

in feed rates of 50, 100 and 150 mm/min by about speeds and feed rates for bone drilling cannot
3.4–4 °C. In other words, while increasing the bit rota- achieve temperatures lower than the critical level.
tional speed affects the reduction of temperature posi- The lowest temperature rise (proportion to the pri-
tively, the temperature change is not considerable. mary temperature) is 30.6 °C in this process, which
 The higher the feed rate, the lesser the temperature appears at the speed of 1000 r/min and feed rate of
rise. It is worth mentioning that the feed rate in con- 150 mm/min.
ventional drilling is not as effective as rotational
Figure 7 shows duration of temperatures higher than
speed and increase of which from 50 to 150 mm/
the critical level for various rotational speeds and feed
min for the related speeds leads to reduction in tem-
rates. It is obvious that
perature rise by about 0.2–2.2 °C.
 One may conclude that the conventional drilling  Increase in the feed rate reduces the duration time
process in the range of the proposed rotational in high temperatures;
Shakouri et al. 7

37 100
f = 50 mm/min f = 50 mm/min
f = 100 mm/min 90
36 f = 100 mm/min
f = 150 mm/min
80 f = 150 mm/min
35 70

34 60
∆T (°C)

F (N)
50
33
40

32 30
20
31
10
30 0
500 750 1000 500 750 1000
N(rpm) N (rpm)

Figure 6. Temperature change versus cutting speed Figure 8. Thrust force versus drill speed (conventional drilling).
(conventional drilling).

150 mm/min. Moreover, in most of rotational

80
f = 50 mm/min speeds, the results of 100 and 150 mm/min are close
70 f = 100 mm/min
f = 150 mm/min to each other.
60
50  Generally, upon increasing the rotational speed from
40 3000 to 18,000 r/min, the temperature rise diagrams,
t(s)

30 pertaining to the drilling site, ascend. Therefore, in

20
high rotational speeds, the resultant temperatures
10
are higher than those of the conventional drilling,
0
500 750 1000 which make the drilling at high speeds ineffective.
N (rpm)
However, notably in Figure 9, the figures descend
Figure 7. Duration of bone temperatures above 47 °C versus for feed rates of 100 and 150 mm/min at rotational
drill speed (conventional drilling). speeds of 6000 and 7000 r/min and reveal the least
temperatures. Similarly, in the feed rate of 50 mm/min,
 Rotational speed change does not affect the reduc- decrease in resultant temperature starts at the speed
tion in the duration. of 6000 r/min and continues up to 8000 r/min, in
which it leads to the minimum temperature.
Figure 8 shows the results of measuring the machin-
The results of measuring the duration time in tem-
ing thrust force in the process of bovine conventional
peratures higher than the critical level (Figure 10) show
drilling. With regard to Figure 8, it can be concluded
that
that
 Increase in the feed rate reduces the duration time
 The higher the feed rate, higher is the force; at high temperatures;
 Increase in the bit rotational speeds from 500 to  Increase in the rotational speed up to the speeds of
1000 r/min reduces the thrust force for all ranges of 6000–8000 r/min enhances the range of high tem-
feed rate; peratures, where the diagram descends consider-
 At the speed of 1000 r/min, the amount of forces is ably, and after which it ascends again.
close to each other in all feed rates, the slopes of
curves reduce and practically the effect of speed Figure 11 shows the results of the thrust force mea-
increase on the force reduction declines. surement. It can be observed that

In high-speed drilling, ranges of the rotational speed  At the speed ranges of 3000–5000 r/min, the higher
are higher than 3000 r/min.4 In order to provide com- feeds provide higher thrust forces. However,
parison conditions, the tests were conducted at the same increase in the rotational speed has no considerable
conventional drilling feed rate (Figure 9). According to effect on the force.
Figure 9  The force falls rapidly for 50 mm/min feed rate at
the speed of 7000 r/min and for 100 and 150 mm/
 The higher the feed rate, higher is the temperature min at 6000 r/min. The amount of force drop for
rise. Despite the temperature results of conventional the above feeds are 85.3%, 87.2% and 88.8%.
drilling, in which the feed rate effect is not consider-  By passing the above-mentioned speeds to higher
able, in this process apparently there is a significant speeds, the thrust force diagram for each feed speed
difference among feed rates of 50, 100 and provides no change in thrust force.
8 Proc IMechE Part H: J Engineering in Medicine

60

55

50

45

40
∆T (°C)

35

30

25
f = 50 mm/min
20 f = 100 mm/min
f = 150 mm/min
15
3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000 11000 12000 13000 14000 15000 16000 17000 18000
N (rpm)

Figure 9. Temperature change versus cutting speed (high-speed drilling).

90
f = 50 mm/min
80 f = 100 mm/min
f = 150 mm/min
70

60

50
t (s)

40

30

20

10

0
3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000 11000 12000 13000 14000 15000 16000 17000 18000
N (rpm)

Figure 10. Duration of bone temperatures above 47 °C versus drill speed (high-speed drilling).

f = 50 mm/min
30 f = 100 mm/min
f = 150 mm/min
25

20
F (N)

15

10

0
3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000 11000 12000 13000 14000 15000 16000 17000 18000
N (rpm)

Figure 11. Thrust force versus drill speed (high-speed drilling).

Nevertheless, empirically temperature of the drill-

Mathematical results ing site increases with an increase in the cutting
Experiments and the mathematical analysis of the speed. As a result, the drill bit cutting speed should
results show that be reduced as much as possible.
 An increase in the feed rate per tooth increases the
 Statistically, cutting speed has no positive effect on thrust force, and at the same time, reduces the
the reduction of temperature elevation. machining time considerably. That means less
Shakouri et al. 9

contact time and less friction between the drill bit phenomenon, effective factors on temperature rise dur-
and bone, as well as less generated heat and lower ing the process should be considered, including chip
bone drilling temperature. Hence, the bone necrosis formation, chip accumulation and friction force (chip
is less likely to occur. Therefore, high feed rate or drill bit with the hole wall). In low rotational speeds,
must be used to minimize the heat generation dur- the temperature rise is at highest level, because of high
ing the drilling of bone. On the other hand, the drilling force and low speed of chip disposal and accu-
amount of feed rate and thrust force should not be mulation phenomenon.
excessive because in some patients, it may even lead High speeds and improved condition of the chip for-
to fracture or drill bit failure. mation increase the speed of chip disposal and reduce
 Heat generation in cutting process depends on the the chips accumulated in flute of drill. As a result, drill-
frictional and shearing forces at the cutting edges. ing force declines and the amount of produced heat
Increase in rotational speed of drill bit (cutting inside the hole reduces, and the temperature rise may
speed) leads to the increase in the total cutting reduce even down to lower levels.
bone-bur contact. This supposedly increases the However, since the conventional drilling process has
amount of friction and heat generation, which limitations in thrust force reduction and increase in chip
increases the drilling site temperature. disposal speed, reducing the temperature rise in drilling
 The mathematical model achieved for temperature site is within the specific amount which is not enough to
(equations (11) and (12)) reveals that temperature prevent the necrosis phenomenon. In other words, the
rise function is ascending, and the increase in cut- phenomenon is inevitable.
ting speed leads to temperature rise at the hole site. Another important point is that the increase in the
As a result, higher cutting speeds do not reduce bit feed rate leads to higher feed speeds and reduces the
temperature rise. process duration. Consequently, the time between tem-
 Comparison of the experimental results and the perature production and temperature rise would be
mathematical model reveals that in high-speed drill- shortened. The only restricting factor against applica-
ing, while temperature rise in the drilled hole is tion of the high feed rate during the bone drilling pro-
ascending, an optimum point is obtained in the cut- cess is possibility of bit break in the bone or crack
ting speed of 6000–7000 r/min (for the feed rate of development in the broken site.
100–150 mm/min), in which the least temperature Results of the bone thermal damage during a con-
rise is observed. Temperature reduction at the ventional drilling process are shown in Figure 12. With
above-mentioned speeds is just the result of rapid regard to Figure 12, one may conclude that the thermal
force fall. When the speed exceeds the critical range, damage reduces with increases in the bit rotational
even though the force values remain stable, friction speed and the feed rate. Despite the considerable reduc-
increases more and more, and the temperature rise tion of O in a speed of 1000 r/min and a feed rate of
increases again and even exceeds that of conven- 150 mm/min, it is still of great difference from the
tional drilling. necrosis occurrence threshold (0.53); it means that
necrosis is inevitable even at the highest feed rate and
rotational speed.
Discussion According to the reports concerning the high-speed
According to the results of conventional bone drilling drilling process on metal samples, it is expected that
process (Figures 6–8), it is observed that an increase in increase in the rotational speed and high cutting speed
the rotational speed leads to reduction in temperature values leads to reduction of machining force on the one
rise in the drilling site. In order to study the hand, and increase in the chip disposal speed and the

100000
f = 50 mm/min
f = 100 mm/min
f = 150 mm/min
10000

1000
Ω

100

10

1
500 750 1000
N (rpm)

Figure 12. Thermal injury versus drill speed (conventional drilling).

10 Proc IMechE Part H: J Engineering in Medicine

10,000,000,000.00
f = 50 mm/min
1,000,000,000.00 f = 100 mm/min
f = 150 mm/min
100,000,000.00

10,000,000.00

1,000,000.00

100,000.00
Ω

10,000.00

1,000.00

100.00

10.00

1.00
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
0.10
N (î 1000 rpm)

Figure 13. Thermal injury versus drill speed (high-speed drilling).

related temperature, and finally reduction of tempera- three factors of heat generation (chip formation force,
ture rise in drilling site, on the other hand (in metal chip accumulation in bit flute and friction) and consid-
drilling, 85% of the produced heat is transferred to the ering the force stability and continuous increase in chip
peripheral environment of the machine10). disposal speed, one may assume the possibility of fric-
Concerning the bone, the thermal conductivity coef- tion increase (between chip or bit and the hole), which
ficient is low in comparison to metals; so it is not in turn generates heat. When the rotational speed
expected that a considerable increase in the rotational exceeds a specific level, the friction dominates over the
speed and subsequently an increase in chip disposal positive effects of the force fall and chip accumulation
speed have remarkable contribution to transferring reduction. This situation increases the temperature
temperature to the environment. Since the thermal con- more and more.
ductivity coefficient is low, the produced heat may not According to Figure 13 (high-speed drilling process
be absorbed by chips and remains in the drilling site and the relative thermal damage), the diagram goes up
and inside the bit. Hence, there is no consensus on the for the three feed speeds except for the feed rate of
positive effect of applying high speeds in bone drilling 50 mm/min at the speed of 8000 r/min and feed rates of
among the researchers. 100 and 150 mm/min at the speed of 6000–7000 r/min,
Therefore, the effective factors on improving the where it appears a rapid fall. The fall points are in
bone drilling process are chip formation, increase in dis- accordance with the thrust force fall. The amount of
posal speed and reduction of chip accumulation in bit thermal damage reduction of O for feed rate of 50 mm/
flute. This study reveals that the produced heat in drill- min is far more than 0.53, and it is unlikely to prevent
ing sites ascends with the rotational speed increases for necrosis at this rate. However, for feed rates of 100 and
all feed rates (Figure 10), except for the specific amount 150 mm/min in a rotational speed of 7000 r/min, the O
of feed rate, at which the temperature falls rapidly. value reaches an acceptable amount which prevents the
Force measurement results reveal that the thrust force necrosis definitely. The reasons are high duration and
amount is stable before the rapid fall points (6000 r/min low temperature rise. Therefore, the feed rate of
for feed rates of 100 and 150 mm/min and 7000 r/min 100–150 mm/min and the rotational speed of 7000 r/
for 50 mm/min). The phenomenon can be explained min are the optimum conditions for achieving the mini-
based on the chip formation at the above-mentioned mum heat generation and absorbance in high-speed
speeds. In low rotational speeds, the bone chips are nee- bone drilling process. Then, increase in the rotational
dle shaped, which increase machining force. However, speed for all feed rates increases the thermal damage
in the above-mentioned rotational speeds, the chips are even to higher levels than those of conventional drill-
powder shaped, which reduces the required force ing. In other words, the rotational speed increase
severely. makes the situation worse and increases the O rise
This rapid force fall followed by an increase in chip amount.
disposal reduces the temperature rise at the speed of
6000–7000 r/min for feed rates of 100 and 150 mm/min
Conclusion
and 7000–8000 for 50 mm/min. When the speed exceeds
the above rates, the temperature rise diagram soars, This study concentrates on the effect of rotational speed
although the force is stable and low. Regarding the on the thrust force and the drilled site temperature in
Shakouri et al. 11

conventional drilling (low speed) and high-speed drill- Declaration of conflicting interests
ing. The points are concluded as follows: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
 In the conventional bone drilling process, despite
the reduction in temperature rise with the increase Funding
in the rotational speed, the thermal necrosis is inevi-
This research received no specific grant from any fund-
table due to the considerable difference between the
ing agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit
measurement amounts of temperature rise and the
sectors.
allowable ranges.
 In high-speed bone drilling process, the temperature
rise reduces considerably in the specific rotational References
speed (for bit with a diameter of 3.2 mm and a feed
1. Hillery MT and Shuaib I. Temperature effects in the
rate of 100–150 mm/min, in a speed of 7000 r/min),
drilling of human and bovine bone. J Mater Process
because the machining force falls rapidly (87% in
Tech 1999; 92–93: 302–308.
average). This rate of temperature rise is the mini- 2. Augustin G, Davila S, Mihoci K, et al. Thermal osteone-
mum amount in both conventional and high-speed crosis and bone drilling parameters revisited. Arch
drilling processes. Orthop Trauma Surg 2008; 128: 71–77.
 By exceeding the optimum point and increasing the 3. Augustin G, Davila S, Udiljak T, et al. Determination of
bit rotational speed, while the thrust force remains spatial distribution of increase in bone temperature
stable and chip disposal increases continuously, an during drilling by infrared thermography: preliminary
increase in friction makes the drilling site tempera- report. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 2009; 129: 703–709.
ture to climb up. The amount of temperature may 4. Augustin G, Zigman T, Davila S, et al. Cortical bone
rise at higher speeds even more than that of in con- drilling and thermal osteonecrosis. Clin Biomech 2012;
ventional drilling. 27: 313–325.
 5. Davidson SRH and James DF. Drilling in bone: model-
The results revealed that the drilling thrust force is
ing heat generation and temperature distribution. J Bio-
independent of the shear rate and is a function of
mech Eng 2003; 125: 305–314.
cutting speed and feed rate. 6. Allan W, Williams ED and Kerawala CJ. Effects of
 The most precise estimated experimental equation repeated drill use on temperature of bone during pre-
to predict the temperature rise is just a function of paration for osteosynthesis self-tapping screws. Br J Oral
feed rate. In other words, the most effective factor Maxillofac Surg 2005; 43: 314–319.
for temperature rise and its increase is feeding, 7. Cem Sener B, Dergin G, Gursoy B, et al. Effects of irri-
which reduces temperature in the drilling site. gation on heat control in vitro at different drilling
However, as it was mentioned earlier, the risks of depths. Clin Oral Implants Res 2009; 20: 294–298.
crack development and bit fracture within the bone 8. Bachus KN, Rondina MT and Hutchinson DT. The
restrict its application. effects of drilling force on cortical temperature and their
 By ignoring the feed rate as the most effective vari- duration: an in vitro study. Med Eng Phys 2000; 22:
685–691.
able, the closest experimental relation is achieved in
9. Davidson SRH and James DF. Measurement of thermal
statistical analysis for the temperature of the drilling
conductivity of bovine cortical bone. Med Eng Phys
site. It is an ascending function of rotational speed. 2000; 22: 741–747.
It means that higher rotational speeds and entering 10. Karmani S. The thermal properties of bone and the
the range of high-speed machining do not only effects of surgical intervention. Curr Orthop 2006; 20:
reduce the hole temperature, but also increase it. 52–58.
The minimum temperature point at the speed of 11. Udiljak T, Ciglar D and Skoric S. Investigation into bone
6000–7000 r/min in feed rates of 100–150 mm/min drilling and thermal bone necrosis. Adv Prod Eng Manag
does not follow the achieved relation; it is an excep- 2007; 2: 103–112.
tional case because of the rapid fall in force. 12. Karaca F, Aksakal B and Kom M. Influence of ortho-
Therefore, one may expect that application of high- paedic drilling parameters on temperature and histo-
speed drilling causes neither reduction in drilling tem- pathology of bovine tibia: an in vitro study. Med Eng
Phys 2011; 33: 1221–1227.
perature nor preventing the necrosis phenomenon.
13. Lee J, Rabin Y and Ozdoganlar OB. A new thermal
 Surgeons have to choose appropriate conditions for
model for bone drilling with applications to orthopaedic
bone drilling, specifically for fixation of the broken surgery. Med Eng Phys 2011; 33: 1234–1244.
organ, in order to achieve the minimum tempera- 14. Lee J, Gozen BA and Ozdoganlar OB. Modeling and
ture rise and prevent necrosis. The suggested condi- experimentation of bone drilling forces. J Biomech 2012;
tion in this regard is the rotational speed of 7000 r/ 45: 1076–1083.
min in the feed rate of 100–150 mm/min; otherwise, 15. Augustin G, Davila S, Udiljak T, et al. Temperature
the temperature rise in the drilling site and subse- changes during cortical bone drilling with a newly
quent occurrence of the thermal necrosis are designed step drill and an internally cooled drill. Int
inevitable. Orthop 2012; 36: 1449–1456.
12 Proc IMechE Part H: J Engineering in Medicine

Appendix 1 T temperature
t time
Notation
t1 depth of cut per revolution
A Arrhenius frequency factor DT temperature rise
a chip material streamline curvature v cutting velocity
C shear rate material constant
D drill diameter a rake angle
Ea Arrhenius activation energy b friction angle
F thrust force Ø shear angle
f feed rate g_ shear rate
N rotational speed u helix angle
p drill point half angle O Arrhenius thermal damage
R universal gas constant
r distance from rotational axis of the drill