Producing of titanium foam using titanium alloy (Al3Ti) by slurry method

Abstract

Titanium has an excellent mechanical properties, low density and bio-compatibility. Titanium foams are attractive for structural and biomedical applications. Because of this properties and applications we have tried to produce titanium foam using titanium alloy (TiAl6V4). In this paper,the slurry method was selected to produce titanium foams, in which the sintering process was the most critical part. Foams will be given to consider the properties of titanium foam after sintering process. Titanium slurry was prepared by mixing titanium alloy powder, polyethylene glycol (PEG), methylcellulose and water. Then, the polyurethane (PU) foam was impregnated in the slurry and dried at room temperature. These were later sintered in a high temperature vacuum furnace. The effects of sintering on the prepared titanium foams were quantified by measuring the sintering time, soaking time and rate of heating. All this parameter was fixed to make sure the result was consistent. The titanium foams were characterised using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive x-ray spectrometer (EDXRF). The range of pore size obtained is between 388µm to 1.07mm, with strut size in the range of 59.4µm to 227µm. The elements found in the material were titanium, aluminum, phosphorus and calcium. Lastly porosity, density and compressive strength were tested for this sample.