Investigating the effect of sintering temperature on structural and tribological properties of a nanostructured Ti–20Nb–13Zr alloy for biomedical applications

Abstract

β-type Ti–20Nb–13Zr alloys with low Young’s modulus were prepared at different sintering temperatures (950, 1050, 1150, and 1250 °C). The morphological and structural characteristics of as-prepared samples were investigated by several methods. Wear tests were conducted using a ball-on-plate type oscillating tribometer under different applied loads (2, 10, and 20 N). The morphological characterization indicated that the mean pore and crystallite size continuously decreased with increasing sintering temperature to reach lowest values of 40 nm and 38 nm at 1250 °C, respectively. The relative density of the 1250 °C sintered sample was as high as 98.7%. Moreover, the higher sintering temperature resulted in higher relative density and closed porosity of the sample. Both the friction coefficient and wear rate were lower in the sample sintered at 1250 °C as compared to other samples. This enhancement in tribological properties was attributed to a closed porosity.