Abstract
High-current pulsed electron-beam (PEB) treatment was applied as a surface finishing procedure for Ti–35Nb–7Zr–5Ta (TNZT) alloy produced by electron beam melting (EBM). According to the XRD results the TNZT alloy samples before and after the PEB treatment have shown mainly the single body-centered cubic (bcc) β-phase microstructures. The crystallite size, dislocation density, and microstrain remain unchanged after the PEB treatment. The investigation of the texture coefficient at the different grazing angle revealed the evolution of the crystallite orientations at the re-melted zone formed at the top of the bulk samples after the PEB treatment. The top-view SEM micrographs of the TNZT samples treated by PEB exhibited the bcc β-phase grains with an average size of ~85 μm. TEM analysis of as-manufactured TNZT alloy revealed the presence of the equiaxed β-grains with the fine dispersion of nanocrystalline α and NbTi4 phases together with β-Ti twins. Meanwhile, the β phase regions free of α phase precipitation are observed in the microstructure after the PEB irradiation. Nanoindentation tests revealed that the surface mechanical properties of the melted zone were slightly improved. However, the elastic modulus and microhardness in the heat-affected zone and the deeper regions of the sample were not changed after the treatment. Moreover, the TNZT alloy in the bulk region manufactured by EBM displayed no significant change in the corrosion resistance after the PEB treatment. Hence, it can be concluded that the PEB irradiation is a viable approach to improve the surface topography of EBM-manufactured TNZT alloy, while the most important mechanical parameters remain unchanged.
Highlights
In current biomaterial research, the development of new materials with improved physicochemical properties and enhanced functional performance characteristics is attracting significant attention
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The finishing process using the pulsed electron-beam (PEB) irradiation was used for treating TNZT alloys produced by electron beam melting (EBM)
Summary
The development of new materials with improved physicochemical properties and enhanced functional performance characteristics is attracting significant attention. The design and manufacture of novel titanium (Ti)-based alloys for biomedical applications in load-bearing areas, such as hip or knee implants, is of specific interest for several reasons. A polycrystalline α+β TiAl6V4 wt% alloy, which is widely used in biomedicine, suffers from two main disadvantages. It has a high risk of the stress-shielding induced by the difference in Young modulus between the replacement material (E ~110 GPa) and natural human bones (20–30 GPa) and incites. Krutz et al [3] have predicted growth of 174% (572,000 procedures) for the total number of hip arthroplasties and 673% (3.48 million procedures) for knee replacements from 2005 to 2030
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