Abstract
Titanium has been increasingly applied to biomedical application because of its improved mechanical characteristics, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. However their application remains limited, due to the low strength and poor wear resistance of unalloyed titanium. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the friction and wear behavior of high-strength titanium alloys: Ti-6Al-7Nb used in femoral stem (total hip prosthesis). The oscillating friction and wear tests have been carried out in ambient air with oscillating tribotester in accord with standards ISO 7148, ASTM G99-95a, ASTM G 133-95 under different conditions of normal applied load (3, 6 and 10 N) and sliding speed (1, 15 and 25 mm.s-1), and as a counter pair we used the ball of 100C 6, 10 mm of diameter. The surface morphology of the titanium alloys has been characterized by SEM, EDAX, micro hardness, roughness analysis measurements. The behavior observed for both samples suggests that the wear and friction mechanism during the test is the same for Ti alloys, and to increase resistance to wear and friction of biomedical titanium alloys used in total hip prosthesis (femoral stems) the surface coating and treatment are required.
Highlights
Titanium and its alloys have been used as implant materials due to their very good mechanical and corrosion resistance and biocompatibility [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the friction and wear behavior of high-strength titanium alloys: Ti-6Al-7Nb used in femoral stem
The behavior observed for both samples suggests that the wear and friction mechanism during the test is the same for Ti alloys, and to increase resistance to wear and friction of biomedical titanium alloys used in total hip prosthesis the surface coating and treatment are required
Summary
Titanium and its alloys have been used as implant materials due to their very good mechanical and corrosion resistance and biocompatibility [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. Ti-6Al-4V alloy, originally developed as an aeronautical material, has been tested as a replacement for CP-Ti, because of its high mechanical properties with sufficient corrosion resistance [13,14,15,16,17]; the cytoxicity of elemental Vanadium is questionable [18,19,20]. For long-term, this alloy has transferred in sufficient load to adjacent bones, resulting in bone resorption and eventual loosening of the implant [23,24]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
