Abstract
The performance of many metal biomedical implants – such as fusion cages for spines – is inherently limited by the mismatch of mechanical properties between the metal and the biological bone tissue it promotes. Here, an alloy design approach is used to isolate titanium alloy compositions for biocompatibility which exhibit a modulus of elasticity lower than the Ti-6Al-4V grade commonly employed for this application. Due to the interest in alloys for personalised medicine, additive manufacturability is also considered: compositions with low cracking susceptibility and with propensity for non-planar growth are identified. An optimal alloy composition is selected for selective laser melting, and its processability and mechanical properties tested. Additive manufacturing is used to engineer an heterogeneous microstructure with outstanding combined strength and ductility. Our results confirm the suitability of novel titanium alloys for lowering the stiffness towards that needed whilst being additively manufacturable and strong.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 117749 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Acta Materialia |
| Volume | 229 |
| Early online date | 18 Feb 2022 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 May 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Acknowledgments:The authors acknowledge funding from Innovate UK, formerly the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), under project number 104047. The authors are grateful to Alloyed Ltd for funding this research. The authors are grateful to Taniobis GmbH for producing and supplying the powder used in this study.
Keywords
- Biomedical
- Titanium alloys
- Selective laser melting
- Characterisation
- Alloys-by-design
- Low modulus
- Additive manufacturing