Efficient fabrication of ultrafine-grained 316L stainless steel surfaces for orthopaedic applications

Abstract

Commonly used severe plastic deformation (SPD) methods are suitable for fabrication of bulk nano and ultrafine-grained metals. Drawbacks of these methods include durability of dies, geometrical restrictions and reduced ductility of the products. In this study, two common machining techniques used in manufacturing of orthopaedic components, turning and milling, were applied on 316L stainless steel as surface SPD to refine the surface microstructures of the workpiece. Machining with optimised parameters resulted in substantial grain refinement down to 98 nm on the surfaces. Biological experiments showed up to ∼70% and ∼280% increased bone cell density on milled and turned samples compared to conventionally machined 316L stainless steel at 5 days, which was correlated with nanocrystallisation and nanoroughness of the samples.

Processing and Properties of Reversion-Treated Austenitic Stainless Steels

“…Tufan et al [212] obtained by machining substantial grain refinement up to 98.2 nm on the 316L ASS surfaces. Biological experiments showed nearly 280% increase in the bone cell density on turned samples compared to the as-received 316L stainless steel at the 5th day of culture, which was explained with enhanced hydrophilicity of the turned sample as a result from the combined effect of surface nanocrystallization and rougher nanoscale surface topography.…”

The Formability and Mechanical Properties of 316L Stainless Steel Fabricated by Pulsed Arc Swing Additive Manufacturing

“…316L stainless steel is widely used in aerospace applications, nuclear power plants, [ 1 ] vehicles, [ 2 ] and medical implants [ 3 ] owing to its superior corrosion and oxidation resistance. Unfortunately, the application of many traditional metallurgical routes, such as cold rolling and forging, to strengthen this material often reduces its useful ductility.…”