F. Prima

Mechanical properties of low modulus ββ titanium alloys designed from the electronic approach

Titanium alloys dedicated to biomedical applications may display both clinical and mechanical biocompatibility. Based on nontoxic elements such as Ti, Zr, Nb, Ta, they should combine high mechanical resistance with a low elastic modulus close to the bone elasticity (E=20 GPa) to significantly improve bone remodelling and osseointegration processes. These elastic properties can be reached using both lowering of the intrinsic modulus by specific chemical alloying and superelasticity effects associated with a stress-induced phase transformation from the BCC metastable beta phase to the orthorhombic alpha(″) martensite. It is shown that the stability of the beta phase can be triggered using a chemical formulation strategy based on the electronic design method initially developed by Morinaga. This method is based on the calculation of two electronic parameters respectively called the bond order (B(o)) and the d orbital level (M(d)) for each alloy. By this method, two titanium alloys with various tantalum contents, Ti-29Nb-11Ta-5Zr and Ti-29Nb-6Ta-5Zr (wt%) were prepared. In this paper, the effect of the tantalum content on the elastic modulus/yield strength balance has been investigated and discussed regarding the deformation modes. The martensitic transformation beta-->alpha(″) has been observed on Ti-29Nb-6Ta-5Zr in contrast to Ti-29Nb-11Ta-5Zr highlighting the chemical influence of the Ta element on the initial beta phase stability. A formulation strategy is discussed regarding the as-mentioned electronic parameters. Respective influence of cold rolling and flash thermal treatments (in the isothermal omega phase precipitation domain) on the tensile properties has been investigated.

Electroformed iron as new biomaterial for degradable stents: development process and structure-properties relationship.

An electroforming technique was developed for fabricating iron foils targeted for application as biodegradable cardiovascular stent material. The microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion of electroformed iron (E-Fe) foils were evaluated and compared with those of pure iron made by casting and thermomechanical treatment (CTT-Fe), with 316L stainless steel (316L SS) and with other candidate metallic materials for biodegradable stents. Electron backscattered diffraction revealed an average grain size of 4 microm for E-Fe, resulting in a high yield (360 MPa) and ultimate tensile strength (423 MPa) being superior to those of other metallic biodegradable stent materials. Annealing at 550 degrees C was found to improve the ductility of the E-Fe from 8% to 18%. The corrosion rate of E-Fe in Hanks solution, measured by potentiodynamic polarization, was higher than that of CTT-Fe, which had been found to have a slow in vivo degradation. The results showed that E-Fe possesses fine-grain microstructure, suitable mechanical properties and moderate corrosion rate as a degradable stent material.

Unexpected Constrained Twin Hierarchy in Equiatomic Ru-Based High Temperature Shape Memory Alloy Martensite

Among the different systems for high temperature shape memory alloys (SMA’s), equiatomic RuNb and RuTa alloys demonstrate both shape memory effect (SME) and MT temperatures above 800°C. Equiatomic compounds undergo two successive martensitic transformations, β (B2) → β’ (tetragonal) → β’’ (monoclinic), whereas out of stoechiometry alloys exhibit a single transition from cubic to tetragonal. In the case of two successive martensitic transformations, we expect to have a finer microstructure of the second martensite because it is supposed to develop inside the smallest twin elements of the former one. In equiatomic Ru-based alloys, if the first martensitic transformation is “normal”, the second one gives different unexpected microstructures with, for instance, twins with a thickness which is larger than the smallest spacing between twin variants of the first martensite. In fact, the reason for this unexpected hierarchy of the twins size is that the second martensitic transformation takes place in special conditions: geometrically, elastically and crystallographically constrained.

High Performance Beta Titanium Alloys as a New Material Perspective for Cardiovascular Applications

During the last few decades, titanium alloys are more and more popular and developed as biomedical devices because of their excellent biocompatibility, very good combination of mechanical properties and prominent corrosion resistance [1-3]. Recently, a new generation of beta titanium alloys dedicated to biomedical applications has been developed. Based on biocompatible alloying elements such as Ta, Nb, Zr and Mo, these alloys were designed as low modulus alloys [4] or nickel-free superelastic materials [5, 6] mainly for orthopedic or dental applications as osseointegrated implants. Beta type titanium alloys take great advantages from their capacity to display several deformation mechanisms as a function of beta phase stability. Therefore, from low to high beta stability, stress assisted martensitic phase transformation (β-α’’), mechanical twinning or simple dislocation slip can alternatively be observed [7]. As a consequence, a very large range of mechanical properties can be reached, including low apparent modulus, large reversible elastic deformation or high yield stress. Although titanium alloys display now a long history of successful applications in orthopedic and dental devices, none of them have been commercially exploited in the area of coronary stents, despite their superior long term haemocopatibility compared to the 316L stainless steel. However, according to previous researches on the biocompatibility of various metals, the corrosion behavior of stainless steel is dominated by its nickel and chromium components, which may induce redox reaction, hydrolysis and complex metal ion–organic molecule binding reactions, whereas none are observed with titanium [8, 9].

Deformation Microstructure and Mechanisms in a Metastable β Titanium Alloy Exhibiting TWIP and TRIP Effects

Titanium alloys typically exhibit a limited ductility (typically 20%) and little strain-hardening. An alloy design with new concept was conducted aiming at improving both ductility and strain hardening while keeping the mechanical resistance at an excellent level. An experimental validation was illustrated with the Ti-12(wt.%)Mo alloy, exhibiting true stress - true strain values at necking, of about 1000MPa and 0.38, respectively, with a large strain hardening rate close to the theoretical limit. In order to clarify the origin of this outstanding combination of mechanical properties, detailed microstructural investigation and phase evolution analysis were conducted by means of in-situ synchrotron XRD, in-situ light microscopy, EBSD mapping and TEM microstructural analysis. In the deformed material, combined Twinning Induced Plasticity (TWIP) and Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) effects are observed. Primary strain/stress induced phase transformations (β->ω and β->α’’) and primary mechanical twinning ({332}<113> and {112}<111>) are simultaneously activated in the β matrix. Secondary martensitic phase transformation and secondary mechanical twinning are then triggered in the twinned β zones. The {332}<113> twinning and the subsequent secondary mechanisms are shown to be dominant at the early stage deformation process. The evolution of the deformation microstructure results in a high strain hardening rate (~2GPa) bringing both a high tensile strength and a large uniform elongation.

Carbides and their Role in Advanced Mechanical Properties of L605 Alloy: Implications for Medical Devices

L605 (ASTM F90), a cobalt-chromium-tungsten alloy with excellent mechanical properties and high radiopacity, has been widely accepted as a suitable alloy for stent applications. The presence of carbides in this alloy, primary carbides and secondary carbides, leads to difficulties in controlling mechanical performances and therefore in optimizing stent size and performances. This work is thus to investigate the carbides and their role in advanced mechanical properties of L605 alloy for stent fabrication. Herein, the nature, nucleation, distribution and dissolution of the carbides were investigated in a series of recrystallized L605 tubes from hard-drawn (HD) state. The mechanical properties corresponding to each carbide state were examined by tensile tests and microhardness measurements. The results indicate important relationships among carbide precipitation, grain size and mechanical behaviors, as a function of annealing temperature and duration. The intergranular secondary carbides, induced at the onset of the recrystallization of L605 matrix, were preferentially precipitated at grain boundaries. The nucleation of such particulate phase leads to a pinning effect on grain coarsening, resulting in a strengthening effect of the material. However, the further growth of the secondary carbides brings about considerable reduction of ductility, which is inacceptable for stent application. Therefore, an optimization protocol on carbides controlling was developed to maintain the strengthening effect without losing ductility and small grain size.

INFLUENCE OF SHAPE MEMORY PROPERTIES ON SLIDING RESISTANCE IN FIXED ORTHODONTIC APPLIANCES

Tooth movements in an orthodontic treatment are the result of an applied force system, wire-bracket-ligature, and the response of the bone tissue. Starting an orthodontic treatment, it is necessary to exercise a sufficient initial force and then to maintain to obtain a continuous tooth movement. Orthodontic wires, which generate the biomechanical forces, usually transfer forces through brackets to trigger tooth movement. In the case of excessive forces of friction, they are behaving as an opposing force with respect to the movement of the tooth, making it sometimes slower or incontrollable [1].

Beta titanium alloys with very high ductility induced by complex deformation mechanisms: A new material perspective for coronary stent applications

The increased use of metallic biomaterials in contact with blood e.g. for application as coronary stents is steadily resulting in the development of new biomaterials. Conventional bare-metal stents made by stainless steel were reported on adverse reactions against human body and are gradually replaced by coated stainless steel. The new generation of stent requires fundamental improvements at the materials point of view. Although titanium and classical Ti-alloys display superior biocompatibility compared to other metallic materials (stainless steels, Co-Cr), the major drawback of their relatively low ductility (typically 15%-25% of elongation) seriously limits their applications as cardiovascular stents, where large ductility is basically required during the stent deployment procedure and long-term service. In this paper, new titanium alloys with high ductility, a binary Ti-12Mo (wt%) and a ternary Ti-9Mo-6W (wt%) were designed by using a chemical formulation strategy based on the electronic design method called “the d-electron alloy design method”. Both alloys were synthesized and thermo-mechanically treated into beta-metastable state. In tensile tests, both alloys exhibited outstanding ductility of 43% and 46% in total elongation at room temperature, which is almost two times greater than the normal value shown with classical titanium alloys. Optical microscopy and detailed TEM observations on the deformed specimens revealed a complex deformation mechanism, involving {332}<113> mechanical twinning, stress induced plate shaped omega phase and stress induced martensitic (SIM) transformation β-α’’.

Microstructural and Mechanical Characterizations of a Ductile Metastable β Titanium Alloy Subjected to Low Temperature Annealing

Low temperature thermal treatments, between 423K and 573K, were performed to optimize the mechanical properties of a ductile beta metastable titanium alloy with TRIP and TWIP effects. A set of short-time heat-treatments (STT) were applied at 423K, 473K, 523K, and 573K for 60 and 600s, respectively. The results show that the tensile strength and Vickers hardness increase as the annealing temperature increasing. The sample annealed at 423K for 60s possessed a modest yielding strength (≈566MPa), Vickers hardness (≈327HV) and excellent elongation (≈53%); whereas the sample annealed at 573K for 600s shows a very high yielding strength (≈1256MPa), Vickers hardness (≈441HV) but a small ductility. It is worth noting that the sample annealed at 473K for 60s exhibited the best combination of high strength (close to 1200MPa of true stress) and a stable plastic zone of ɛ=0.4(true strain) with a significant strain hardening effect. It is clarified that both TRIP and TWIP deformation mechanisms are promoted after the heat treatment of 60s at 473K, resulting in good balance among the tensile strength, the ductility and the strain hardening behavior.

Optimization of Superelastic Properties in Titanium-Niobium Alloys Using Short-Time Thermal Treatments

The short-time thermal treatment strategy has been proved to be very efficient in improving the mechanical properties of various titanium based alloys. The mechanical properties of alloys such as Ti-Nb, Ti-Nb-Zr and Ti-Nb-Zr-Sn based alloys, are extremely sensitive to the β phase stability, microstructure and phase constitution. The concept of the short-time treatment is designed to control precisely the material structure (phase precipitation, etc…) without extensive modification of the distribution of alloying elements. This results in reliable optimizations regarding the balance between elastic modulus, pseudo- (super-) elasticity and strength. Currently, the structural evolution mechanisms involved in the STAT are under systematic investigations in the aim of achieving accurate control of the microstructures and optimized balance of mechanical properties.