Abstract
The present study evaluates the effect of boron additions on the tribological performance of CoCrMo alloys. The alloys were prepared with boron ranging from 0.06 to 1 wt%. The materials were characterized using metallographic techniques, scanning electronic microscopy, and roughness and hardness tests. Tribological evaluation was made by means of ball-on-disc tests for sliding distances of 4, 8 and 12 km. The samples were in the as-cast condition and after a heat treatment at 1200 °C for 1 h, finished by water quenching. The results showed that wear resistance was influenced by the microstructure and the number of secondary phases. The volume loss decreased as the boron content increased. Due to hard phases, abrasion wear was observed. Delamination fatigue was also detected after long sliding distances. Both wear mechanisms diminished in higher boron content alloys.
Highlights
CoCrMo alloys are widely used in artificial joints due to their high wear and corrosion resistance [1,2,3]
The present study evaluates the effect of boron additions on the tribological performance of CoCrMo alloys
The present study evaluated the effect of boron in the tribological behavior of CoCrMo alloys in as-cast and heat treatment conditions
Summary
CoCrMo alloys are widely used in artificial joints due to their high wear and corrosion resistance [1,2,3]. Boron additions in the range of 0.09–1.48 wt% to a heat-resistant Co-based alloy found an important reduction in the incubation time of carbides, refinement of primary phases for small boron amounts, and metallic borides for larger contents [22]. It was observed that boron content higher than 0.04% in an atom reduced yield strength at room temperature due to precipitate-depleted zones around grain boundaries [23,24] These detrimental zones were eliminated by heat treatment [24]. The effect of boron in the wear resistance of a CoCrMo biocompatible alloy was evaluated under as-cast and heat-treated conditions. These alloys were previously evaluated in corrosion and fatigue resistance [31,32]
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