The present research is the first type of study, in which the application of powder mixed electrical discharge machining (PM-EDM) for the machining of β-phase titanium (β-Ti) alloy has been proposed. β-Ti alloys are new range of titanium alloys, which has wide spread application in dental, orthopaedics, shape memory, and stents. The aim of the present study is to fabricate submicro-and nano scale topography by PMEDM process to enhance the biocompatibility without affecting machining efficiency. The effect of Si powder concentration along with pulse-current and duration on the surface and machining characteristics has been investigated. A significant decrease in surface crack density on the machined surface with 4 g/l Si powder concentration was observed. When β-Ti alloy was modified at 15 A pulse-current, longer pulse interval with 8 g/l concentration of Si powder particles, the interconnected surface porosities with pore size 200-500 nm was observed. Moreover, at Si powder concentration of 2 and 4 g/l, the recast layer thickness is 8µm and 2-3 µm, respectively. Elemental mapping analysis confirmed that PMEDM also generated carbides and oxides enriched surface, a favourable surface chemistry to enhance the biocompatibility of β-Ti alloy. Furthermore, Downloaded by [George Mason University] at 06:41 22 June 2016 2 PMEDM also enhances the machining performance by improving MRR and reducing TWR.
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