Fatigue properties of a dental implant produced by electron beam melting® (EBM)

Abstract

Fatigue properties of a dental abutment with a lattice structure were investigated. Electron Beam Melting® (EBM) was used to produce the dental abutments, made of Ti-6Al-4V. Four levels of cyclic loads including 100N, 200N, 300N, and 500N were applied at 15Hz by using a sinusoidal wave form, and the loading ratio of 10%. According to the experimental results of fatigue test, the dental abutment tolerated the five million cycles of loading at 100N. Results of fractography suggested that the fatigue crack can be initiated from the partially sintered powder particles that were attached to the truss surface. The numerical results revealed the deleterious influence of sharp corners on lowering the fatigue life of the structure. The high level of surface roughness and the lower relative density of a lattice structure could affect its strain rate sensitivity and consequently lower the endurance limit of the lattice structure. The comparison of the experimental data and numerical modeling suggested that the more conservative Soderbrg relationship for the mean stress correction could be used for numerical modeling of fatigue in lattice structures produced by EBM®. Finally, a regression equation was developed from the experimental results that can be used to predict the fatigue life of the designed dental abutment.