Fractographic Evaluation of the Metallic Materials for Medical Applications

Abstract

The manner of studying of the fracture modes could be done through fractography. Fractography is the study of fracture surface morphologies and it gives an insight into damage and failure mechanisms, underpinning the development of physically-based failure criteria. In composites research it provides a crucial link between predictive models and experimental observations. Fractographic methods are routinely used to determine the cause of failure in all engineering structures, especially in product failure and the practice of forensic engineering or failure analysis. In material science research, fractography is used to develop and evaluate theoretical models of crack growth behavior. One of the aims of fractographic examination is to determine the cause of failure by studying the characteristics of a fracture surface. Different types of crack growth produce characteristic features on the surface, which can be used to help identify the failure mode. The overall pattern of cracking can be more important than a single crack, however, especially in the case of brittle behavior materials. Initial fractographic examination is commonly carried out on a macro scale utilizing low power optical microscopy and oblique lighting techniques to identify the extent of cracking, possible modes and likely origins. When it is needed to identify the nature of failure, an analysis at high magnification is required and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) seems to be the best choice. The problem of fracture behavior of biometallic materials is a real one, being well and repeatedly presented in literature. Variations in alloy compositions can lead to subtle differences in mechanical, physical, or electrochemical properties. However, these differences are minor compared with the potential variability caused by differences in fabrication methodology, heat treatment, cold working, and surface finishing, where surface treatments are particularly important for corrosion and wear properties. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to summarize the different types of metals and alloys used as biomaterials, the corrosion of metals in the human body, and different failure damages of metallic implants.