Advancements in titanium nanocomposites: Microstructure and fretting wear resistance via spark plasma sintering

Abstract

This study investigated enhancing the wear resistance of Ti6Al4V alloys for medical applications by incorporating TiC nano-reinforcements using advanced spark plasma sintering (SPS). The addition of up to 2.5wt% TiC significantly improved the mechanical properties, including a notable 18.2% increase in hardness (HV 332). Fretting wear tests against 316L stainless steel (SS316L) balls demonstrated a 20wt%–22wt% reduction in wear volume in the Ti6Al4V/TiC composites compared with the monolithic alloy. Micro-structural analysis revealed that TiC reinforcement controlled the grain orientation and reduced the β-phase content, which contributed to enhanced mechanical properties. The monolithic alloy exhibited a Widmanstätten lamellar microstructure, while increasing the TiC content modified the wear mechanisms from ploughing and adhesion (0–0.5wt%) to pitting and abrasion (1wt%–2.5wt%). At higher reinforcement levels, the formation of a robust oxide layer through tribo-oxide treatment effectively reduced the wear volume by minimizing the abrasive effects and plastic deformation. This study highlights the potential of SPS-mediated TiC reinforcement as a transformative approach for improving the performance of Ti6Al4V alloys, paving the way for advanced medical applications.

Keywords

Ti6Al4V alloy / TiC particle / microstructure / wear mechanism / spark plasma sintering

References

[1] Geetha M, Singh AK, Asokamani R, Gogia AK. Ti based biomaterials, the ultimate choice for orthopaedic implants—A review. Prog. Mater. Sci., 2009, 54(3): 397.

[2] B. Lal, A. Dey, and M.F. Wani, Effect of frictional heating on mechanically mixed layers during dry sliding contact of Ti–6Al–4V alloys at high temperature in vacuum condition, Surf. Rev. Lett., 29(2022), No. 10, art. No. 2250127.

[3] Veiga C, Davim JP, Loureiro AJR. Properties and applications of titanium alloys: A brief review. Rev. Adv. Mater. Sci., 2012, 32(2): 133

[4] Pachore JA, Vaidya SV, Thakkar CJ, Bhalodia HKP, Wakankar HM. ISHKS joint registry: A preliminary report. Indian J. Orthop., 2013, 47(5): 505

[5] Kovacs P, Davidson JA, Daigle KSt. John KR. Correlation between the metal ion concentration and the fretting wear volume of orthopaedic implant metals. Particulate Debris from Medical Implants: Mechanisms of Formation and Biological Consequences, 1992, West Conshohocken. ASTM International

[6] Shanaghi A, Chu PK, Rouhaghdam ARS, Xu R, Hu T. Structure and corrosion resistance of Ti/TiC coatings fabricated by plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition on nickel–titanium. Surf. Coat. Technol., 2013, 229: 151.

[7] Oláh N, Fogarassy Z, Furkó M, Balázsi C, Balázsi K. Sputtered nanocrystalline ceramic TiC/amorphous C thin films as potential materials for medical applications. Ceram. Int., 2015, 41(4): 5863.

[8] Nie X, Leyland A, Matthews A. Low temperature deposition of Cr(N)/TiO₂ coatings using a duplex process of unbalanced magnetron sputtering and micro-arc oxidation. Surf. Coat. Technol., 2000, 133: 331.

[9] Sánchez-López JC, Martínez-Martínez D, López-Cartes C, Fernández A. Tribological behaviour of titanium carbide/amorphous carbon nanocomposite coatings: From macro to the micro-scale. Surf. Coat. Technol., 2008, 202(16): 4011.

[10] Yerokhin AL, Nie X, Leyland A, Matthews A. Characterisation of oxide films produced by plasma electrolytic oxidation of a Ti–6Al–4V alloy. Surf. Coat. Technol., 2000, 130(2–3): 195.

[11] Vangolu Y, Alsaran A, Yildirim OS. Wear properties of micro arc oxidized and hydrothermally treated Ti6Al4V alloy in simulated body fluid. Wear, 2011, 271(9–10): 2322.

[12] Banfield S, Wilson JAB, Cassar G, Leyland A, Matthews A, Housden J. An investigation into the effect of triode plasma oxidation (TPO) on the tribological properties of Ti6Al4V. Surf. Coat. Technol., 2011, 206(7): 1955.

[13] Cassar G, Avelar-Batista Wilson JC, Banfield S, Housden J, Matthews A, Leyland A. Surface modification of Ti–6Al–4V alloys using triode plasma oxidation treatments. Surf. Coat. Technol., 2012, 206(22): 4553.

[14] Chávez J, Olmos L, Jiménez O, Bouvard D, Rodríguez E, Flores M. Sintering behaviour and mechanical characterisation of Ti64/xTiN composites and bilayer components. Powder Metall., 2017, 60(4): 257.

[15] Choi M, Hong E, So J, et al. . Tribological properties of biocompatible Ti–10W and Ti–7.5TiC–7.5W. J. Mech. Behav. Biomed. Mater., 2014, 30: 214

[16] Huang LJ, Geng L, Xu HY, Peng HX. In situ TiC particles reinforced Ti6Al4V matrix composite with a network reinforcement architecture. Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 2011, 528(6): 2859.

[17] Matsushita JI, Suzuki T, Sano A. High temperature strength of TiB₂ ceramics. J. Ceram. Soc. Japan, 1993, 101(1177): 1074.

[18] W.J. Zhang, H.H. Liu, H. Ding, and H. Fujii, Superplastic deformation mechanism of the friction stir processed fully lamellar Ti–6Al–4V alloy, Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 785(2020), art. No. 139390.

[19] Li B, Shen YF, Hu WY. Surface nitriding on Ti–6Al–4V alloy via friction stir processing method under nitrogen atmosphere. Appl. Surf. Sci., 2013, 274: 356.

[20] Yan ZQ, Chen F, Cai YX, Zheng YK. Microstructure and mechanical properties of in-situ synthesized TiB whiskers reinforced titanium matrix composites by high-velocity compaction. Powder Technol., 2014, 267: 309.

[21] da Silva AAM, dos Santos JF, Strohaecker TR. Microstructural and mechanical characterisation of a Ti6Al4V/TiC/10p composite processed by the BE-CHIP method. Compos. Sci. Technol., 2005, 65(11–12): 1749.

[22] Qi JQ, Wang HW, Zou CM, Wei ZJ. Influence of matrix characteristics on tensile properties of in situ synthesized TiC/TA15 composite. Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 2012, 553: 59.

[23] Tao XW, Yao ZJ, Zhang SS, Liao J, Liang J. Investigation on microstructure, mechanical and tribological properties of in-situ (TiB + TiC)/Ti composite during the electron beam surface melting. Surf. Coat. Technol., 2018, 337: 418.

[24] Caceres PG. Effect of microstructure on the abrasive wear properties of infiltrated tungsten alloys. Mater. Charact., 2002, 49(1): 1.

[25] Hawk JA, Alman DE. Abrasive wear of intermetallic-based alloys and composites. Mater. Sci. Eng. A, 1997, 239: 899.

[26] Wen G, Li SB, Zhang BS, Guo ZX. Reaction synthesis of TiB₂–TiC composites with enhanced toughness. Acta Mater., 2001, 49(8): 1463.

[27] B. Lal and A. Dey, Fretting wear characteristics of Ti6Al4V/TiC nano composites using response surface method, Tribol. Int., 193(2024), art. No. 109412.

[28] G. Singh, N. Sharma, D. Kumar, and H. Hegab, Design, development and tribological characterization of Ti–6Al–4V/hydroxyapatite composite for bio-implant applications, Mater. Chem. Phys., 243(2020), art. No. 122662.

[29] German RM. Sintering: From Empirical Observations to Scientific Principles, 2014, New York. Butterworth-Heinemann

[30] Elsayed A, Li W, El Kady OA, Daoush WM, Olevsky EA, German RM. Experimental investigations on the synthesis of W–Cu nanocomposite through spark plasma sintering. J. Alloy. Compd., 2015, 639: 373.

[31] M. Shokouhimehr, S.A. Delbari, A.S. Namini, et al., Nanostructure and nanoindentation study of pulse electric-current sintered TiB₂–SiC–C_f composite, Sci. Rep., 13(2023), No. 1, art. No. 379.

[32] Sattler KD. Handbook of Nanophysics: Clusters and Fullerenes, 2010, Boca Raton. CRC Press.

[33] Wen Y, Xie LC, Wang Z, Wang LQ, Lu WJ, Zhang LC. Nanoindentation characterization on local plastic response of Ti–6Al–4V under high-load spherical indentation. J. Mater. Res. Technol., 2019, 8(4): 3434.

[34] Maja ME, Falodun OE, Obadele BA, Oke SR, Olubambi PA. Nanoindentation studies on TiN nanoceramic reinforced Ti–6Al–4V matrix composite. Ceram. Int., 2018, 44(4): 4419.

[35] Demirci S, Dikici T, Dalmis R. Nanoindentation and corrosion behavior of additively manufactured Ti–6Al–4V alloy for biomaterial applications. J. Mater. Eng. Perform., 2024, 33(5): 2133.

[36] M.W. Bai, R. Namus, Y.D. Xu, D.K. Guan, M.W. Rainforth, and B.J. Inkson, In-situ Ti–6Al–4V/TiC composites synthesized by reactive spark plasma sintering: processing, microstructure, and dry sliding wear behaviour, Wear, 432(2019), art. No. 202944.

[37] Miyoshi K, Sanders JH, Hager CHJr., et al. . Wear behavior of low-cost, lightweight TiC/Ti–6Al–4V composite under fretting: effectiveness of solid-film lubricant counterparts. Tribol. Int., 2008, 41(1): 24.

[38] Dalili N, Edrisy A, Farokhzadeh K, Li J, Lo J, Riahi AR. Improving the wear resistance of Ti–6Al–4V/TiC composites through thermal oxidation (TO). Wear, 2010, 269(7–8): 590.

[39] Hager CHJr., Sanders JH, Sharma S. Effect of high temperature on the characterization of fretting wear regimes at Ti6Al4V interfaces. Wear, 2006, 260(4–5): 493.

[40] Falodun OE, Obadele BA, Oke SR, et al. . Influence of spark plasma sintering on microstructure and wear behaviour of Ti–6Al–4V reinforced with nanosized TiN. Trans. Nonferrous Met. Soc. China, 2018, 28(1): 47.

[41] Fischer-Cripps AC. Critical review of analysis and interpretation of nanoindentation test data. Surf. Coat. Technol., 2006, 200(14–15): 4153.

[42] Khan MM, Dey A. Selection of optimal processing condition during abrasive wear of in-situ ZA-37/TiC_p composites using MCDM technique. Ceram. Int., 2021, 47(14): 20090.

[43] N. Singh, R. Ummethala, P.S. Karamched, et al., Spark plasma sintering of Ti6Al4V metal matrix composites: Microstructure, mechanical and corrosion properties, J. Alloy. Compd., 865(2021), art. No. 158875.

[44] Liu SC, Hu WT, Xiang JY, et al. . Mechanical properties of nanocrystalline TiC–ZrC solid solutions fabricated by spark plasma sintering. Ceram. Int., 2014, 40(7): 10517.

[45] N. Tian, L.L. Dong, H.L. Wang, et al., Microstructure and tribological properties of titanium matrix nanocomposites through powder metallurgy using graphene oxide nanosheets enhanced copper powders and spark plasma sintering, J. Alloy. Compd., 867(2021), art. No. 159093.

[46] Amigó V, Salvador MD, Romero F, Solves C, Moreno JF. Microstructural evolution of Ti–6Al–4V during the sintering of microspheres of Ti for orthopedic implants. J. Mater. Process. Technol., 2003, 141(1): 117.

[47] Wei ZJ, Cao L, Wang HW, Zou CM. Microstructure and mechanical properties of TiC/Ti–6Al–4V composites processed by in situ casting route. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2011, 27(8): 1321.

[48] Wei WH, Shao ZN, Shen J, Duan XM. Microstructure and mechanical properties of in situ formed TiC-reinforced Ti–6Al–4V matrix composites. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2018, 34(2): 191.

[49] Ramamurty U, Jang JI. Nanoindentation for probing the mechanical behavior of molecular crystals–a review of the technique and how to use it. CrystEngComm, 2014, 16(1): 12.

[50] Oliver WC, Pharr GM. Measurement of hardness and elastic modulus by instrumented indentation: advances in understanding and refinements to methodology. J. Mater. Res., 2004, 19(1): 3.

[51] Rominiyi AL, Mashinini PM. Nanoindentation study of mechanical and wear properties of spark plasma sintered Ti–6Ni–xTiCN composites. Ceram. Int., 2023, 49(2): 2194.

[52] M.M. Khan and A. Dey, Hybrid MCDM approach for examining the high-stress abrasive wear behaviour of in situ ZA-27/TiC_p MMCs, Mater. Chem. Phys., 277(2022), art. No. 125319.

[53] S.A. Alidokht, V.N.V. Munagala, and R.R. Chromik, Role of third bodies in friction and wear of cold-sprayed Ti and Ti–TiC composite coatings, Tribol. Lett., 65(2017), No. 3, art. No. 114.

[54] Munagala VNV, Torgerson TB, Scharf TW, Chromik RR. High temperature friction and wear behavior of cold-sprayed Ti6Al4V and Ti6Al4V–TiC composite coatings. Wear, 2019, 426: 357.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

University of Science and Technology Beijing