Large strain extrusion machining of magnesium alloys for biomedical applications

Abstract

Recently, magnesium alloys are attracting more and more attention as degradable materials for manufacturing temporary biomedical devices, although their rapid degradation in physiological environment limits their clinical applications to a great extent. Different Severe Plastic Deformation (SPD) processes have been recently applied to magnesium alloys in order to improve the surface integrity, which is directly correlated to their corrosion resistance. The current study investigates the possibility of exploiting Large Strain Extrusion Machining (LSEM) as a processing route to increase corrosion resistance of magnesium alloys for biomedical applications. Different cooling conditions and cutting speeds were adopted during LSEM and their effects on the surface integrity and corrosion resistance on both the machined workpiece and obtained chips were studied. For the first time, liquid nitrogen was used as cooling medium in LSEM and its effect was properly investigated. Results showed that LSEM, regardless of the adopted cutting parameters, is an effective method to obtain a workpiece with improved functional performances. Similar results pertain to the chips, but a careful choice of process parameters is even more mandatory than in the case of the workpiece.