Wen-Hsien Kao, Yean-Liang Su, Jeng-Haur Horng and Shu-Er Yang
This paper aims to investigate the tribology, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility of high-temperature gas-nitrided Ti6Al4V alloy.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the tribology, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility of high-temperature gas-nitrided Ti6Al4V alloy.
Design/methodology/approach
The tribological properties were studied by reciprocating wear tester. The corrosion resistance was evaluated by using potentiodynamic polarization test. The purified mouse leukaemic monocyte macrophage cells are used to investigate the biocompatibility.
Findings
The results show that the nitriding treatment leads to a significant improvement in the hardness and tribological properties of Ti6Al4V alloy. Specifically, compared to untreated Ti6Al4V, the hardness increases from 3.24 to 9.02 GPa, while the wear rate reduces by 12.5 times in sliding against a Ti6Al4V cylinder and 19.6 times in sliding against a Si3N4 ball. Furthermore, the nitriding treatment yields an improved corrosion resistance and a biocompatibility similar to that of untreated Ti6Al4V.
Originality/value
The nitrided Ti6Al4V alloy is an ideal material for the fabrication of load-bearing artificial implants.
Details
Keywords
Wen-Hsien Kao and Yean-Liang Su
This paper aims to investigate the effects of plasma nitriding and Ti-C:H coating deposition on AISI 316L and to find the best tribological performance of various specimens.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the effects of plasma nitriding and Ti-C:H coating deposition on AISI 316L and to find the best tribological performance of various specimens.
Design/methodology/approach
An experimental investigation is performed into the effects of plasma nitriding and Ti-C:H sputtering on the tribological properties of AISI 316L biomedical stainless steel. Five samples are prepared, namely, original AISI 316L stainless steel (code: 316L), nitrided 316L (code: N316), 316L and N316 sputtered with Ti-C:H (codes: D316 and DN316, respectively) and polished N316 sputtered with Ti-C:H (DN316s). The microstructure, mechanical properties and coating adhesion strength of the various samples are investigated and compared. The tribological properties of the samples are then evaluated by means of reciprocating wear tests performed in 8.9 Wt.% NaCl solution against three different counterbodies, namely, a 316L ball, Ti6Al4V ball and Si3N4 ball.
Findings
It is shown that plasma nitriding followed by Ti-C:H deposition (DN316s) improves the tribological properties of AISI 316L; the sample provides the best tribological performance of the various specimens and has a wear rate approximately 156 times lower than that of the original 316L substrate.
Originality/value
The results suggest that nitriding followed by polishing and Ti-C:H sputtering provides an effective means of improving the service life of AISI 316L biomedical implants.