A Comparative Study of Wear Properties of Ti-Nb-Ta-Zr Alloys and Ti-6Al-4V

摘要

The influences of heat treatment, variation in Nb content and surface modification on the wear characteristics of new β type Ti-Nb-Ta-Zr alloys and conventional metallic implant alloy Ti-6Al-4V were investigated using a block-on-ring wear device. Experimental results show that the wear resistance of Ti-29Nb-13Ta-4.6Zr and Ti-6Al-4V is sensitive to their mechanical properties such as hardness and ultimate tensile strength. Increase in Nb content results in improvement of the corrosive wear resistance of the β type alloy to some degree, but does not effectively improve dry wear resistance. Embrittlement of Ti-6Al-4V resulting from immersion in NaCl solution deteriorates its corrosive wear resistance. The wear resistance of Ti-29Nb-13Ta-4.6Zr is improved significantly after oxidation treatment, due to the presence of Nb_2O_5 oxide particles on the diffusion hardened surface of the alloy.