Dry Sliding Wear Behavior of Experimental Low-Cost Titanium Alloys
Nicola R. Rundora, Desmond Klenam, Safa Polat, M.N. Mathabathe, Josias W. van der Merwe, Michael Oluwatosin Bodunrin
Abstract
The high cost and potential toxicity associated with the common commercial Ti-6Al-4V alloy are major concerns against its continued use in the biomedical industry. Low-cost, less toxic titanium alloys have been developed as a possible alternative to Ti-6Al-4V. Because of the various wear processes that take place in the human body, it is imperative to have a good understanding of the wear properties and wear resistance of these alloys. This study, therefore, investigated the resistance to wear of the low-cost Ti-3Fe, Ti-4.5Al-1V-3Fe, and Ti-4.5Al-1V-3Fe alloys under dry sliding conditions in contrast to the common commercial alloy, Ti-6Al-4V. The findings revealed that among the tested alloys, Ti-3Fe exhibited the lowest resistance to wear as it displayed the highest coefficient of friction (0.55) and wear rate (5.55E-06 mm3/Nm). The Ti-4.5Al-1V-3Fe alloy demonstrated superior wear resistance compared to the rest of the alloys, including Ti-6Al-4V, as it had the lowest wear rate (4.27E-06 mm3/Nm) and wear volume (0.0026 mm3). Overall, the experimental alloys displayed very similar wear resistance to Ti-6Al-4V, making them promising commercial alloys that can replace Ti-6Al-4V in bioimplant applications.