Development of α+β-type biomedical Ti–Nb alloys with high oxygen content

Abstract

Ti-(5–20)Nb-(0.5–1)O alloys (mass%) were investigated for developing low-cost biomedical α+β-type Ti alloy. Ti-(5, 10, 15, 20)Nb-(0.5, 0.75, 1)O alloys (mass%) were arc-melted and forged into bars. The forged alloy bars were heat-treated at 873 to 1373 K for 3.6 ks in an Ar atmosphere and quenched in iced water. β transus (Tβ) of the Ti-Nb-O alloys decreased with increasing Nb content. An increase in the oxygen content led to an increase in Tβ. After quenching, the formation of α′ martensite was observed in Ti-5Nb-yO alloys. An increase in the Nb content to 10 mass% led to the formation of α′ and α″ martensites. A further increase in the Nb content to 15 and 20mass% resulted in the formation of more α″ martensites. The boundary temperature for the formation of α′ and α″ martensite in the Ti-10Nb-yO alloys increased with increasing oxygen content, because oxygen enhances the Nb distribution to the β phase. The ultimate tensile strength of the Ti-xNb-0.75O alloys heattreated to obtain the α-phase fraction (fα) of 0.5 was over 1000 MPa, except for the Ti-15Nb-0.75O alloy. The total elongation decreased with increasing Nb content. The Ti-5Nb-0.75O alloy exhibited excellent strength-ductility balance as a low-cost α+β-type biomedical Ti alloy.