The Ti-6Al-4V alloy is widely used in the manufacture of components that must have low density and high corrosion resistance and fatigue strength. The fatigue strength can be improved by surface modification. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of plasma nitriding on the fatigue behavior of a Ti-6Al-4V alloy with a lamellar microstructure (Widmanstätten type). Nitriding was executed at 720 °C for 4 h in an atmosphere with N2, Ar, and H2. Microstructure characterization of the samples was carried out by X-ray diffraction analysis, optical microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The average roughness of the specimens was determined, and fatigue tests were executed in a bending–rotating machine with reverse tension cycles (R = −1). X-ray diffraction analysis of the nitrided alloy revealed the following matrix phases: α, β, ε-Ti2N, and δ-TiN. A nitrogen diffusion layer was formed between the substrate and the titanium nitrides. Plasma nitriding resulted in an increase in low-cycle fatigue strength, whereas at high cycles of 200 MPa, both conditions exhibited similar behaviors. The fracture surface of the fatigue-tested specimens clearly revealed the lamellar microstructure. The fracture mechanism in the non-nitrided specimens appears to be due to cracking at the interface of the α and β phases of the lamellar microstructure.

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The Ti-6Al-4V alloy is widely used in the manufacture of components that should have low density, high corrosion resistance, and fatigue strength. The fatigue strength can be improved by surface modification. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of plasma nitriding on the fatigue behavior of Ti-6Al-4V alloy with a lamellar microstructure (Widmanstätten type). Nitriding was executed at 720 °C for 4 hours in an atmosphere with N2, Ar and H2. Samples microstructure characterization was carried out by X-ray diffraction analysis, optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The average roughness of the specimens was determined, and fatigue tests were executed in a bending-rotating machine with reverse tension cycles (R= -1). X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the matrix phases α and β, and the phases Ɛ-Ti2N and δ-TiN in the nitrided alloy. A nitrogen diffusion layer was formed between the substrate and the titanium nitrides. Plasma nitriding resulted in an increase in low cycle fatigue strength, whereas at high cycles, both conditions exhibit similar behavior. The fracture surface of the fatigue tested specimens clearly revealed the lamellar microstructure. The fracture mechanism appears to be due to cracking at the interface of α and β phases of the lamellar microstructure.

The use of computed tomography (CT) for imaging procedures is growing due to advances in the CT equipment technology, because they allow the obtention of images with better resolution than through other techniques. Therefore, they are responsible for increasing the dose radiation of patients during the procedure. This fact led to a greater concern about the doses received by patients who undergo this type of examination. To perform the dosimetry in CT beams, the most widely used instrument is the pencil type ionization chamber, because this dosimeter has a uniform response to the incident radiation beam for all angles. The conventional ionization chamber, which is available on the market, has a sensitive volume length of 10 cm; however, some studies have shown that this dosimeter has underestimated the dose values. Therefore, in this study two ionization chambers with sensitive volume lengths of 10 cm and 30 cm, making use of low cost national materials, were developed at the Calibration Laboratory of Instruments (LCI-IPEN/CNEN). The characterization of these chambers was performed, and the results were obtained within the international recommended limits. As an application, the developed ionization chambers and a commercial chamber were tested in a clinical tomographer. The developed ionization chambers were analyzed in a complete way for their possible uses.

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