Production of metallic biomaterials by vacuum arc melting method and investigation of their properties

Due to their high mechanical strength, metallic biomaterials are being used extensively in many biomedical applications related, particularly, to the implants. The Titanium (Ti) metal and its alloys have been shown to have good physical, mechanical and biological properties. Nowadays, researchers have been focused especially on the development of Beta-Titanium alloys with low elastic moduli. In such alloys, elements like Niobium (Nb), Tantalum (Ta), Zirconium (Zr), and Molybdenum (Mo) are used. It has been observed that when Ti is alloyed with Nb, the produced alloy shows high corrosion resistance, shape memory and super elasticity properties. The purpose of this study is to develop low-cost alloys that have properties better than those of the currently available commercial alloys. In this study, the effect of addition of boron (B), which is a grain refining element, on the mechanical and corrosion properties of the Ti-40.5 Nb (weight percent) alloy was investigated. For this purpose, the Vacuum Arc Melting (VAM) method was used to produce the alloys whose B contents (weight percent) were, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1 and 2. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Optical Microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (EDS) were used to observe, investigate and determine the phases present in the alloys. To determine the mechanical properties of the produced alloys Dynamic Ultra-micro Hardness (DUH) technique was used. Potentiodynamic corrosion tests were performed on the alloys to determine their electrochemical properties.