Metastable Beta Titanium Alloys for Orthopedic Applications

This article provides an overview of metastable β titanium alloys either being utilized or being considered for use in orthopedic applications. The effects of thermomechanical processing on the mechanical properties (e.g., elastic modulus, tensile, wear and high cycle fatigue performance) of Ti‐15Mo‐0.2O, Ti‐12Mo‐6Zr‐2Fe (TMZF), Ti‐29Nb‐13Ta‐4.6Zr and Ti‐35Nb‐7Zr‐5Ta are reviewed. The osteointegration behavior of Ti‐29Nb‐13Ta‐4.6Zr and Ti‐35Nb‐7Zr‐5Ta‐O alloys is also presented.     

Metal Alloys for Fusion‐Based Additive Manufacturing

Metal additive manufacturing (AM) is an innovative manufacturing technique, which builds parts incrementally layer by layer. Thus, metal AM has inherent advantages in part complexity, time, and waste saving. However, due to its complex thermal cycle and rapid solidification during processing, the alloys well suit and commercially used for metal AM today are limited. Therefore, it is important to understand the alloying strategy and current progress with materials performance to consider alloy development for metal AM. This review presents the current range of alloys available for metal AM, including titanium, steel, nickel, aluminum, less common alloys (including Mg alloys, metal matrix composites alloys, and low melting point alloys), and compositionally complex alloys (including bulk metallic glasses and high entropy alloys) with a focus on the relationship between compositions, processing, microstructures, and properties of each alloy system. In addition, some promising alloy systems for metal AM are highlighted. Approaches for designing and optimizing new materials for metal AM have been summarized.

     

High‐Entropy Alloys: Potential Candidates for High‐Temperature Applications – An Overview

Multi‐principal elemental alloys, commonly referred to as high‐entropy alloys (HEAs), are a new class of emerging advanced materials with novel alloy design concept. Unlike the design of conventional alloys, which is based on one or at most two principal elements, the design of HEA is based on multi‐principal elements in equal or near‐equal atomic ratio. The advent of HEA has revived the alloy design perception and paved the way to produce an ample number of compositions with different combinations of promising properties for a variety of structural applications. Among the properties possessed by HEAs, sluggish diffusion and strength retention at elevated temperature have caught wide attention. The need to develop new materials for high‐temperature applications with superior high‐temperature properties over superalloys has been one of the prime concerns of the high‐temperature materials research community. The current article shows that HEAs have the potential to replace Ni‐base superalloys as the next generation high‐temperature materials. This review focuses on the phase stability, microstructural stability, and high‐temperature mechanical properties of HEAs. This article will be highly beneficial for materials engineering and science community whose interest is in the development and understanding of HEAs for high‐temperature applications.     

Comparative determination of the α/β phase fraction in α+β-titanium alloys using X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy

A comparison is made between the measured α/β phase fractions in Ti-6246 using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electron microscopy. Image analysis of SEM and TEM images was compared to the phase fraction estimate obtained using electron backscattered diffraction, lab and high-energy synchrotron XRD. There was a good agreement between the electron microscopic and diffraction techniques, provided that the microstructural parameters of grain size and texture are estimated correctly when using quantitative Rietveld refinement.     

PM‐Composites with Nickel‐Titanium Shape Memory Alloys

Starting from NiTi‐powders, composites of nickel‐titanium shape memory alloys (NiTi‐SMA) and different stainless steels as well as of different NiTi‐SMAs were produced by using the process of hot isostatic pressing (HIP). Metallographic investigations focussed on the interface between NiTi‐SMA and stainless steel with special emphasis placed on the characterization of the typical structure of the diffusion zones in both components.     

An Oxygen-Permeation Treatment for Hardening Titanium Alloys

In this paper, the characterization of oxygen permeation (OP) in titanium alloy TC11 at high temperature and the influence of oxygen solution layer on performances of substrate were characterized with the help of apparatus, such as TGA,SEM/EDAX, XRD, EPMA, Micro-hardness Tester, Two-body Abrasion Tester, Amsler Wear Test Machine, Potentiostat/Galvanostat Model 273 system. The results showed that there was a little shift in X-ray diffraction peaks of α and β phase during the OPT process as a result of oxygen solution. The OP treatment can significantly increase the surface hardness of titanium alloys and, accordingly, the abrasive wear resistance was improved. Titanium alloys with oxygen solution layer exhibited improved corrosion resistance both in 3.5 % NaCl and in 5 % HCl solution. Oxidation resistance of TC11 with oxygen solution layer at high temperature was also enhanced. The solution and hardening mechanisms were discussed based on the experimental results.