Abstract
Additive manufacturing technologies allow producing a regular three-dimensional mesh of interconnected struts that form an open-cell porous structure. Regular porous structures have been used in the orthopedic industry due to outstanding bone anchoring. The aim of the study was to determine how the postprocessing influences the mechanical properties of porous structures made of titanium alloy CL 41TI ELI. The effect of hot isostatic pressing (HIP) as a method of increasing microstructural integrity was investigated here. The influence of surface etching (SE) technique, which was applied to the porous structure for cleaning unmelted titanium powder particles on the surface of connectors from the inner surfaces of a porous structure, was examined in this study. Mechanical properties were investigated by means of compression tests. The results point out that HIP has a minor effect on the mechanical behavior of considered porous structures. The SE is an effective method to clean the surface of a porous structure, which is very important in the case of biomedical applications when loose powder can cause serious health problems. Another effect of the SE is also the strut thickness reduction. Reducing strut thickness of a porous structure with the surface etching decreases its stiffness to the same extent as predicted by the relative density theoretical model but did not result in structural damage.
Highlights
Additive Manufacturing (AM) is an innovative, rapidly developing technology utilized in the biomedical industry
The surface etching led to a decrease of the strut thickness (Table 2), and the mechanical response of the porous structure has changed as presented in Figures 6 and 7
The effect of hot isostatic pressing (HIP) treatment and surface etching on the mechanical properties of porous specimens was investigated
Summary
Additive Manufacturing (AM) is an innovative, rapidly developing technology utilized in the biomedical industry. Manufactured joint and bone replacements are mostly made of biocompatible titanium and its alloys. Solid titanium alloys are characterized by significantly higher stiffness than human bones. This mismatch in mechanical properties could limit bone ingrowth, speed up bone resorption and cause loosening of the orthopedic implant as a result of stress shielding [5,6,7]. The small porous and open-cell structures are arranged as repeating and connected unit cells and can be created by AM. This kind of architecture tends to reduce a stress gradient between
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 call
