EFFECT OF THE TYPE OF ABRASIVE AGENT ON THE PROPERTIES OF CAST Co-Cr ALLOYS USED IN PROSTHETICS

摘要

The study presents the results of abrasion resistance tests carried out on alloys from the cobalt-based family, including Remanium 2001 (CoCrMoW) and Wironit LA (CoCrMo). Tests were performed on the Miller apparatus. The abrasive agent was slurry composed of water and silicon carbide particles of different granulations (SiC > 500 mu m and SiC ~45 pm). The study included metallographic examinations, measurements of hardness and weight loss recorded in the tested materials after different times of abrasion amounting to 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 16 hours. The surfaces of samples subjected to abrasion were additionally examined by SEM. Alloys were characterized by a dendritic structure typical of cast materials. The results have proved the effect of abrasive particle size on the relative weight loss in Remanium 2001 and Wironit LA alloys. They have also proved that, regardless of the size of abrasive particles, the Wironit LA alloy offers better resistance to abrasion than Remanium 2001. This is due to, among others, the geometric features of the dendrite arms.