Sintering of Ti-based biomedical alloys with increased oxygen content from elemental powders

Abstract

Revived interest for beta Ti alloys with increased oxygen content is motivated by the prospect of achieving material with low modulus and high strength simultaneously. Fine tuning of amount of oxygen and beta stabilizing elements is critical for achieving good mechanical properties. This study shows that powder metallurgy method of spark plasma sintering is capable of producing Ti-Nb-Zr-O alloys from elemental powders. This simple approach allows for quick sampling and production of several alloys with various chemical composition. Elemental powders were mixed with appropriate amount of titanium dioxide to achieve Ti-29Nb-7Zr-0.7O alloy. Sintering was performed at 1400 - 1500 °C for 15 – 30 minutes.