Carbide precipitates in as-sintered and heat treated Ti-22Nb-(10Zr-xB) alloys processed by metal injection molding

Research output: ThesisDiploma Thesis

Authors

Abstract

Ti-Nb alloys present an excellent choice for biomedical applications due to their low Young’s modulus and very good biocompatibility. Though, the fabrication of these alloys using metal injection molding (MIM) turned out to lead to the formation of titanium carbides that adversely affects the ductility. Aim of this work was a reduction of the carbide precipitates to improve the mechanical properties. Therefore, different compositions of Ti-22Nb-(10Zr-xB) with x=0, 0.3 and 0.5 (m.%) were consolidated by MIM and subsequently heat treated. The carbon and oxygen content was determined and density was measured. Further investigations included optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). It could be shown that both zirconium and boron are influencing the sintering process and, consequently, porosity increases and grain size decreases. Moreover, the addition of boron leads to the formation of titanium borides that are non-homogenous distributed in the matrix. A reduction of titanium carbides was observed with the addition of zirconium and boron. The heat treatments influenced the amount of titanium carbides differently, where the precipitation of carbides could be nearly fully suppressed by water quenching.

Details

Translated title of the contributionKarbidausscheidungen in gesinterten und wärmebehandelten Ti-22Nb-(10Zr-xB) Legierungen hergestellt mittels Metallpulverspritzgießen
Original languageEnglish
QualificationDipl.-Ing.
Supervisors/Advisors
  • Ebel, Thomas, Supervisor (external), External person
  • Clemens, Helmut, Supervisor (internal)
Award date1 Jul 2016
Publication statusPublished - 2016