Effect of the Current Density in the Electrical Resistance Sintering Technique to Fabricate a β-Ti-Nb-Sn Ternary Alloy for the Biomedical Sector

Abstract

The electrical resistance sintering is a fast method to fabricate metallic samples in the field of metallurgy and it was used to obtain the Ti-Nb-Sn alloy to be applied as biomaterial, variyng different electrical current densities (11, 12 and 13 kA). The powders were obtained by mechanical alloying, then they were compacted at pressure of 193 MPa during 700 ms. The structure and microstructure of the powders and the samples was evaluated by x-ray diffraction, by Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy and electron back-scattered diffraction. The mechanical properties were evaluated by microhardness assay and corrosion resistance was made in Ringer Hartmann’s solution at 37ºC. The samples are formed by α, α” and phase β. The % of phase β in the samples obtained at 11, 12 and 13 kA was 96.56, 98.12 and 98.02 respectively. The peripheral zone present more presence of microporosity than the central zone. The microstructure is also formed by bcc-β grains equiaxial, and the samples obtained at 12 kA present better homogeneity of the microstructure. The grain size increased with the increase of the electrical current density. The microhardness are in the range of 389-418 HV and decreased with the increase of electrical current density. Corrosion tests proved excellent corrosion resistance of the alloys (0.24-0.45 µA/cm2). The standard deviation of kinetic parameters of the samples at 11 and 13 kA were very higher, related to the lack of homogeneity of the microstructure.