Bioinert metals are used for medical implants and in some industrial applications. This study was performed to detect and analyze peculiarities that appear in the temperature distributions during quasi-static tensile testing of bioinert alloys. These alloys include VT1-0 titanium, Zr-1%Nb and Ti-45%Nb in both coarse-grain (CG) and ultrafine-grain (UFG) states. The crystal structure, as well as the crystal domain and grain sizes of these alloys in the UFG state, may be different from the CG versions and identifying the thermal signatures that occur during their deformation and fracture is of interest, as it may lead to an understanding of physical processes that occur during loading. By comparing the surface temperature distributions of specimens undergoing deformation under tensile loading to the distributions at maximum temperatures it was found that the observed differences depend on the alloy type, the alloy structural state and the thermal properties of structural defects in the specimen. Macro-defects were found in some specimens of VT1-0 titanium, Zr-1Nb and Ti-45Nb alloys in both the CG and UFG states. The average tensile strength of specimens containing defects was lower than that of specimens with no defects. Infrared thermography documents change in the thermal patterns of specimens as they are deformed under tensile loading and when the load stops changing or the specimen breaks.

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Fatigue tests were carried out on samples of titanium VT1−0 and zirconium alloy Zr−1 wt % Nb in the ultrafine-grained, fine-grained and coarse-grained states in a gigacycle fatigue regime. It was found that the formation of an ultrafine-grained structure led to an increase in the fatigue limit in the gigacyclic region (10 9 cycles) by 1.3 times for titanium and 1.7 times for zirconium alloy when compared to the fine-grained and coarse-grained states. An evolution of the temperature field for titanium and zirconium alloy samples in various structural states in the process of cyclic loading was studied by the method of infrared thermography. It was shown that the process of cyclic deformation in all types of structural states was accompanied by an initiation and expansion of a heat source in a local volume of samples which has a significant impact on the fatigue strength. The increment of the maximum temperature on the surface of ultrafine-grained samples of titanium VT1−0 and zirconium alloy Zr−1 wt % Nb is significantly lower than that for the fine-grained and coarse-grained states. This fact indicates a qualitative change in the mechanism of energy dissipation which is associated with characteristic features of the ultrafine-grained state. When comparing the dynamics of thermal fields for the titanium and zirconium alloy samples in coarse-grained, fine-grained and ultrafine-grained states, it was found that the energy dissipation zone covered a considerable volume of the sample in the process of fatigue tests in case of ultrafine-grained state, whereas in case of coarse-grained and fine-grained states the growth of thermal energy was localized in the gauge area of the sample.

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For this paper, studies of the microstructure as well as the mechanical and biological properties of bioinert titanium, zirconium, and niobium alloys in their nanostructured (NS) and ultrafine-grained (UFG) states have been completed. The NS and UFG states were formed by a combined two-step method of severe plastic deformation (SPD), first with multidirectional forging (MDF) or pressing into a symmetrical channel (PSC) at a given temperature regime, and then subsequent multi-pass groove rolling (MPGR) at room temperature, with pre-recrystallization annealing. Annealing increased the plasticity of the alloys in the NS and UFG states without changing the grain size. The UFG structure, with an average size of structural elements of no more than 0.3 μm, was formed as a result of applying two-step SPD and annealing. This structure presented significant improvement in the mechanical characteristics of the alloys, in comparison with the alloys in the coarse-grained (CG) or small-grained (SG) states. At the same time, although the formation of the UFG structure leads to a significant increase in the yield strength and tensile strength of the alloys, their elastic modulus did not change. In terms of biocompatibility, the cultivation of MG-63 osteosarcoma cells on the polished and sandblasted substrates demonstrated high cell viability after 10 days and good cell adhesion to the surface.

Bioinert Zr-1Nb alloy, which is a prospective material for the fabrication of implants for different applications, is studied. Annealed billets of the alloys are subjected to severe plastic deformation including multi-cycle abc-pressing and multipass rolling in grooved rolls. The abc-pressing stage involves three cycles of pressing within the temperature range 500 -400°C with one pressing in each cycle at a given temperature. In the second stage, the billets are deformed through rolling in grooved rolls at room temperature. Rolling in grooved rolls provided the formation of a homogeneous structure throughout the bulk billet volume and additional grain refinement. After annealing the alloy had a fine-grained structure consisting of 2.8 µm sized equiaxial α-Zr matrix grains and 0.4 µm sized β-Nb particles distributed on the boundaries and interiors of α-Zr matrix grains. As a result of severe plastic deformation, a binary ultrafine-grained alloy with 0.2 µm size of structural elements was obtained. Transmission electron microscopy shows that the microstructure of the alloy consists of α-Zr grains, while β-Nb phase grains are not identified structurally or via X-ray diffraction. Only the diffraction identification analysis reveals the presence of β-Nb in the alloy. Ultrafine-grained structure enhances the mechanical properties of the alloys: yield stress 450 MPa, ultimate tensile strength 780 MPa, and microhardness 2800 MPa are obtained while keeping a low value of Young's modulus (51 MPa) comparable to the Young's modulus of bone tissue.