Cracking of magnesium-based biodegradable implant alloys under the combined action of stress and corrosive body fluid: a review

The mechanical and chemical stabilities of implant materials when used in the human body are critically important. While exposed to corrosive human body fluid, implants simultaneously experience considerable loadings and thus, may undergo environmentally assisted cracking (such as stress–corrosion cracking). This article summarizes the current research on stress–corrosion cracking of magnesium alloys and then, presents a review on their stress–corrosion cracking in simulated human body environments.