Dry Sliding Wear Behavior of Experimental Low-Cost Titanium Alloys

• Published in: Tribology transactions Vol. 67; no. 3; pp. 560 - 572
• Main Authors: Rundora, Nicola R., Klenam, Desmond E. P., Polat, Safa, Mathabathe, Ntsoaki M., van der Merwe, Josias, Bodunrin, Michael O.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia Taylor & Francis 03.05.2024; Taylor & Francis Inc
• Subjects: Abrasion; Biocompatibility; Coefficient of friction; friction; Frictional wear; Low cost; Sliding friction; sliding wear; titanium; Titanium alloys; Titanium base alloys; Wear rate; Wear resistance; wear testing
• ISSN: 1040-2004; 1547-397X
• DOI: 10.1080/10402004.2024.2357288

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 mm 3 /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 mm 3 /Nm) and wear volume (0.0026 mm 3 ). 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.