Investigating the effect of milling time on structural, mechanical and tribological properties of a nanostructured hiped alpha alumina for biomaterial applications

Abstract

In this work was prepared α-Al2O3 alloys from laboratory aluminum oxide powder that was milled for different periods of time and sintered at a temperature of 1450 °C. The difference between the prepared samples was studied using several experimental measurement techniques, including X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and measurement of physical and mechanical properties. Moreover, the effect of milling time on the formation and sintering of alpha-alumina, by milling the mixture at different times using high energy crushing technique was studied. An influence of milling time on density, open spaces and microstructure of the samples was analyzed. The obtained results showed that longer milling duration led to alloys with higher hardness (H) and modulus of elasticity (E). This improvement is due to lower porosity and corresponding higher density at high temperatures. A noticeable decrease in the size of the particles with the increase of the milling time led to an increase in the lattice parameter accompanied by a decrease in defects and ionic voids. The percentage of pores reached 0.04 % within 24 h of grinding after it was approximately 0.20 %, while the density reached 96 % after the same highest grinding time. Tests showed that the value of friction coefficient decreases, while it increases with the increase in the applied pressure force and this was confirmed by SEM images of the samples. the main factor to reduce friction is the increase in grinding time, regardless of the value of the applied load. The results showed that the Al2O3 alloy applied to it with a load of 2 N and milled for 24 h had a minimum value of 1.94 µm3 wear volumes and a wear rate of 1.33 (µm3∙N−1∙µm−1). The sample milled for 24 h showed the best result, characterized by the lowest wear size, specific wear rate and the highest hardness with extraordinary density of 96 %, which is important in the field of biomaterials applications.

Keywords

• α-Al2O3
• Milling time
• Nanomaterials
• Particle size
• Hardness
• Biomaterials