Improvement of pseudoelasticity and ductility of Beta III titanium alloy - Application to orthodontic wires

Abstract

The pseudoelasticity of metastable Beta III titanium alloy (TMA™) used for orthodontic applications is obtained by cold wiredrawing. This wire has higher rigidity than cold-drawn NiTi (Nitinol™, superelastic NiTi SE) and lower recoverable deformation. The low ductility value of Beta III is due to the deformation imposed by wiredrawing. The aim of this research was to improve the behaviour of this alloy by modifying the microstructural parameters to decrease the rigidity and increase the recoverable deformation and ductility of the alloy. The effects of second phase precipitate, grain size, and deformation on the wire mechanical properties were also examined. The isothermal precipitation of alpha (α) or omega (ωisoth) phases precludes the expression of the pseudoelastic effect. The presence of an ωisoth phase considerably increases fracture strength, whereas the α phase strongly decreases the ductility and adversely affects the strain recovery (εr). To control the grain size, the growth of the recrystallized grains was studied by considering several parameters, which are known to have an influence on grain size, including the cold rolled strain, the temperature, the time of annealing, and the initial grain size. A structure with coarse grains, quenched from a temperature higher than the beta transus (Tβ), associated with a plastic pre-deformation, contributed to an improved pseudoelastic behaviour, due to the presence of a reversible martensite phase (α″) induced by the pre-deformation. © The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Orthodontic Society. All rights reserved.