Microstructure and porosity evolution of the Ti-35Zr biomedical alloy produced by elemental powder metallurgy

Abstract

In the present study, the structure and porosity of binary Ti–35Zr (wt.%) alloy were investigated, allowing to consider powder metallurgy as a production method for new metallic materials for potential medical applications. The porous Ti–Zr alloys were obtained by milling, cold isostatic pressing and sintering. The pressure during cold isostatic pressing was a changing parameter and was respectively 250, 500, 750 and 1000 MPa. The X-ray diffraction study revealed only the α phase, which corresponds to the Ti–Zr phase diagram. The microstructure of the Ti–35Zr was observed by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. These observations revealed that the volume fraction of the pores decreased from over 20% to about 7% with increasing pressure during the cold isostatic pressing. The microhardness measurements showed changes from 137 HV0.5 to 225 HV0.5.