Corrosion wear fracture of new β type biomedical titanium alloys

Metallic materials such as stainless steel, Co-Cr alloy, pure titanium and titanium alloys have been used for surgical implant materials. The alpha + beta type titanium alloy such as Ti-6Al-4V ELI has been most widely used as an implant material for artificial hip joint and dental implant because of its high strength and excellent corrosion resistance. Toxicity of alloying elements in conventional biomedical titanium alloys like Al and V, and the high modulus of elasticity of these alloy as compared to that of bone have been, however, pointed out [1,2]. New beta type titanium alloys composed of non-toxic elements like Nb, Ta, Zr, Mo and Sn with lower moduli of elasticity, greater strength and greater corrosion resistance were, therefore, designed in this study. The friction wear properties of titanium alloys are, however, low as compared to those of other conventional metallic implant materials such as stainless steels and Co-Cr alloy. Tensile tests and friction wear tests in Ringer's solution were conducted in order to investigate the mechanical properties of designed alloys. The friction wear characteristics of designed alloys and typical conventional biomedical titanium alloys were evaluated using a pin-on-disk type friction wear testing system and measuring the weight loss and width of groove of the specimen. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A, Al rights reserved.