Influence of the Heat Treatment on the Tribological Characteristics of the Ti-based Alloy for Biomedical Applications

Abstract

The influence of diverse heat treatments on microstructural and tribological characteristics of Ti-6Al-4V ELI (mass%) alloy, which is used as implant material in biomedical engineering, was investigated on a block-on-disc tribometer. Aim of the present study was to explore the possibility of Ti-6Al-4V ELI alloy wear resistance improvement, examining the effects of different heat treatments on alloy microstructure, as well as on alloy wear characteristics in simulated body conditions using light optical microscopy (LOM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results presented in this paper show that the influence of heat treatment on microstructural and tribological characteristics of the investigated Ti-based alloy is significant and that it can be used for further wear resistance improvement of this widely used implant material.