Tribocorrosion behavior of S-phase surface engineered medical grade Co-Cr alloy

X. Luo, X. Li*, Y. Sun, H. Dong

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

18 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Co-Cr alloy is one of the most widely used metallic biomaterials for metal-on-metal joint prostheses. However, concerns about increased revision rates associated with large head metal-on-metal replacements have been raised recently. Release of such toxic ions as Cr and Co from corrosion-wear induced nano-sized wear debris has been envisaged as the potential cause. This research was aimed at studying the tribocorrosion behavior of S-phase surface engineered medical grade ASTM F1537 Co-Cr alloy with a view of addressing problems associated with current metal-on-metal joint prostheses.To this end, ASTM F1537 Co-Cr alloy surfaces were plasma alloyed with carbon at low-temperature to produce a surface carbon S-phase layer, which is a precipitate-free carbon super-saturated solid solution with high hardness, good corrosion and wear resistance. Cyclic potentiodynamic and potentiostatic measurements were performed under unidirectional sliding wear condition in 1. M Ringer's solution to evaluate tribocorrosion properties of the low temperature plasma treated as well as untreated ASTM F1537 Co-Cr alloy.The results showed that the S-phase layer can significantly enhance the tribocorrosion properties of Co-Cr alloy in terms of reduced corrosion potentials and wear volume. The much improved tribocorrosion behavior of the S-phase layer can be attributed to its high hardness, good corrosion resistance and excellent repassivation ability.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1615-1623
Number of pages9
JournalWear
Volume302
Issue number1-2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2013

Keywords

  • Carburizing
  • Co-Cr alloy
  • S-phase
  • Tribocorrosion

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Surfaces and Interfaces
  • Surfaces, Coatings and Films
  • Materials Chemistry

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