Event Abstract Back to Event Graded elastic modulus orthopedic implants made of graded metastable beta ti alloy Eder N. Lopes1, Alessandra Cremasco2 and Rubens Caram1 1 University of Campinas, School of Mechanical Engineering, Brazil 2 University of Campinas, School of Applied Sciences, Brazil If the human body undergoes a traumatic event, a bone fracture can take place and fracture fixation implants, like bone-plates, are used to stabilize the bone fracture, limiting movements at the fracture site, leading to alignment of the fractured bone parts and allowing osseous healing [1]. In general, bones are less rigid than the bone fixation plate and consequently, mechanical stress imposed on the bone will be shielded by the plate and bone remodeling will occur [2]. While low elastic modulus bone-plate reduces the stress shielding in the fractured bone segments, it does not provide enough stability at the fracture site. A critical problem is to design a bone-plate that considers simultaneously the restriction resulting from bone stress shielding and the requirements of stability at the fracture site. The mechanical stress in a fractured bone fixed by stiffness-graded plates was simulated and the results were compared with stress distribution in bone fixed by stainless-steel plates [3]. The results suggested that stiffness-graded plates minimizea the stress shielding. An efficient way of generating a compromise between the bone stress shielding and the stability at the fracture site is the use of a stiffness-graded plate made of a Ti alloy. Mechanical behavior of β Ti alloys is related to processing conditions [4]. Depending on processing route, a β Ti alloys can exhibit a wide range of mechanical behaviors. While solution heat-treated and water quenched Ti alloy allows obtaining metastable β phase, with low elastic modulus, aging heat treatments to solution heat-treated and water quenched Ti alloy can result in high elastic modulus. The aim of this study is to discuss a new concept of fracture bone-plate made of β Ti alloy with graded stiffness used to minimize bone stress shielding. Samples based on Ti-Nb alloy were synthetized in arc melting furnace under inert atmosphere. They were hot rolled at 900 °C, resulting in plates measuring 3 mm in thickness and 120 mm long. These plates were solution heat-treated at 900 °C for 30 min under inert atmosphere and water-quenched. Then, localized aging heat treatment using heating induction was performed. While the center sections were heat-treated for 2 h at approximately 500 °C, the end sections were kept at room temperature. The β Ti sample that was solution-heat-treated and water-quenched showed β phase only. The same sample after aging at 500 °C for 2 h showed α phase in the β matrix. X-ray diffraction indicates that the initial microstructure was formed by β phase, while the application of aging led to precipitation of α phase. Elastic modulus was measured and the results suggest that high elastic modulus in obtained in the center part of the sample, while low elastic modulus is found far from the fracture. Application of solution heat treatment, water-quenching, and aging to β Ti alloys is able to tailor their mechanical behavior, allowing producing a graded elastic modulus bone fracture plates. The results also show that bone fracture plates with an elastic modulus ranging from 60 GPa to 110 GPa can be produced. The authors acknowledge the Brazilian research funding agencies FAPESP and CNPq for their financial support of this work.