Abstract
The microstructural and mechanical properties of β-type Ti85-xNb10+xSn5 (x = 0, 3, 6, 10 at.%) alloys with low elastic modulus were investigated. The experimental results show that the Ti85Nb10Sn5 and Ti75Nb20Sn5 alloys are composed of simple α and β phases, respectively; the Ti82Nb13Sn5 and Ti79Nb16Sn5 alloys are composed of β and α″ phases. The content of martensite phase decreases with the increase of Nb content. The Ti82Nb13Sn5 and Ti79Nb16Sn5 alloys show an inverse martensitic phase transition during heating. The Ti85Nb10Sn5 and Ti82Nb13Sn5 alloys with the small residual strain exhibit the good superelastic properties in 10-time cyclic loading. The reduced elastic modulus (Er) of the Ti75Nb20Sn5 alloy (61 GPa) measured by using the nanoindentation technique is 2–6 times of that of human bone (10–30 GPa), and is smaller than that of commercial Ti-6Al-4V biomedical alloy (120 GPa). The Ti75Nb20Sn5 alloy can be considered as a novel biomedical alloy. The wear resistance (H/Er) and anti-wear capability (H3/Er2) values of the four alloys are higher than those of the CP–Ti alloy (0.0238), which indicates that the present alloys have good wear resistance and anti-wear capability.
Highlights
At present, stainless steel, cobalt-chromium (Co–Cr) alloy, and titanium alloys are widely used in biomedical alloys [1]
Ti79 Nb16 Sn5 alloys are composed of β and α” phases; the Ti75 Nb20 Sn5 alloy is composed of simple β
Ti79Nb16Sn5 alloys are composed of β and α'' phases; the Ti75Nb20Sn5 alloy is composed of simple β phase
Summary
Stainless steel, cobalt-chromium (Co–Cr) alloy, and titanium alloys are widely used in biomedical alloys [1]. The elastic modulus of medical stainless steel, Cr–Co alloys, and titanium alloys as implants are 220 GPa, 230 GPa and 110 GPa, respectively, higher than those of human bone (10–30 GPa) [2]. When the higher elastic modulus of the biomedical alloys do not match the elastic modulus of the human bone around the implant, and can cause stress shielding, affecting the health of the patient [3,4,5]. In the development of biomedical alloys, many researchers are committed to developing Ti alloys with low elastic modulus and high specific strength. Ti biomedical alloys have low elastic modulus and high specific strength, and low density, good corrosion resistance and good biocompatibility [6,7,8,9,10]. As the elastic modulus of Ti-6Al-4V alloy causes stress shielding, Metals 2019, 9, 712; doi:10.3390/met9060712 www.mdpi.com/journal/metals
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