Differences in the effect of surface texturing on the wear loss of β-type Ti–Nb–Ta–Zr and (α+β)-type Ti–6Al–4V ELI alloys in contact with zirconia in physiological saline solution

Abstract

The effectiveness of dimple surface texturing via picosecond pulsed laser processing for reducing wear loss was investigated using two types of titanium alloys, β-type Ti–29Nb–13Ta-4.6Zr (TNTZ) and α+β-type Ti–6Al–4V ELI (Ti64). The two alloys showed different modes of wear against zirconia. As the sliding distance increased, the wear loss was observed to increase for Ti64, but not necessarily for TNTZ. The wear debris of Ti64 acted as abrasive particles, but that of TNTZ easily adhered to the surface, and the adhered wear debris turned into a hard wear-protective layer. Therefore, the dependence of wear loss on the sliding distance for these two titanium alloys could be attributed to the difference in the roles of wear debris between each titanium alloy and zirconia. Further, depending on this difference in wear mode, the effect of dimple surface texturing on the wear was found to be different in Ti64 and TNTZ. As the dimples can trap the wear debris, they are effective for reducing wear in Ti64 but are detrimental in TNTZ.