Microstructures and mechanical properties of porous titanium compacts prepared by powder sintering

Using pure Ti powder with particle sizes from 300 to 500 mum prepared by the plasma rotating electrode process (PREP), porous pure Ticompacts for biomedical applications were synthesized by powder sintering, and microstructures and mechanical proper-ties of the compacts were investigated in this study. Porous compacts having porosity of 19-35 vol% are successfully fabricated by controlling sintering condition, It is found that Young's modulus and compressive yield strength decrease linearly with increasing porosity, and porous Ti compacts having porosity of about 30-35 vol% exhibit identical Young's modulus of human bone.