The Effect of Coatings on the Wear Behavior of Ti6Al4V Alloy Used in Biomedical Applications

Abstract

The properties expected from implant materials are biocompatibility, long service life and wear resistance. The wear resistance of the implant materials varies according to the type of implant, usage area and the movement. The ability of implant material to be more compatible with biological tissues and to increase the useful life depends on the surface properties. Today many different kind of surface modification techniques are applying on medical and dental implant surfaces to improve surface specifications and wear resistance. In this study TiN, TiAlN, TiCN coatings were applied on Ti6Al4V alloy used as implant material by reactive magnetron sputtering method. The wear resistances of uncoated Ti6Al4V alloy and TiN, TiAlN, TiCN coatings were investigated at room temperature under dry conditions. The wear resistance at different load and different sliding rates were compared using an wear tester. The wear losses, wear track widths and friction coefficients of coated and uncoated Ti6Al4V alloys are taken into account for comparison. The results show that a significant improvement in wear resistance of the alloy with the coating is achieved and TiN-coated Ti6Al4V alloy has the highest wear resistance.