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Additive Manufacturing of Ti-6Al-4V alloy for Biomedical Applications

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Abstract

Ti-6Al-4V alloy is one of the widely used titanium alloys for biomedical applications, especially in load-critical bio-implants, because of its high strength, biocompatibility, and corrosion resistance. However, conventional manufacturing processes pose many challenges for the fabrication and processing of Ti-6Al-4V alloy-based implants. The emerging additive manufacturing technologies, particularly selective laser melting, provide an ideal platform for manufacturing customized and complex-geometry implants with high-dimensional accuracy. This study evaluates the mechanical properties, and bio-corrosion resistance of selective laser melted Ti-6Al-4V alloy. The microstructural analysis showed the presence of a continuous networked structure of the β phase, which paved the way for an ample microhardness of 255 HV. A comprehensive analysis of the fracture mechanism and bio-corrosion mechanism of the selective laser melted Ti-6Al-4V alloy is presented. The fractography depicted a combination of ductile and brittle fracture mechanisms, resulting in a fair ultimate tensile strength value of 813 MPa. Meanwhile, the formation of calcium hydroxyapatite in the course of corrosion during the implantation period helps in bone growth and promotes implant–bone stability. The corrosion rate of the SLM Ti-6Al-4V alloy in simulated body fluid was 9 × 10–4 mm/year. The results provide a new avenue to fabricate selective laser melted Ti-6Al-4V alloy with desired mechanical properties and bio-corrosion resistance.

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The authors and co-authors did not receive a specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors to carry out the research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Amrita School of Engineering, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore, India

    Yashwanth Kumar Balasubramanian Gayathri, R. Lokesh Kumar, Vaira Vignesh Ramalingam & K. Santhosh Kumar

  2. Department of Mathematics and Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queens University, Belfast, UK

    Yashwanth Kumar Balasubramanian Gayathri & R. Lokesh Kumar

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Anna University, Coimbatore, India

    G. Suganya Priyadharshini

  4. CEMILAC, Defence Research and Development Organization, Bengaluru, India

    T. Ram Prabhu

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  1. Yashwanth Kumar Balasubramanian Gayathri
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  3. Vaira Vignesh Ramalingam
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  4. G. Suganya Priyadharshini
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All authors contributed to the study's conception and design. All the authors performed material preparation, data collection, and analysis. The first draft of the manuscript was written by B G Yashwant Kumar and R Lokesh Kumar. All authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Vaira Vignesh Ramalingam.

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Balasubramanian Gayathri, Y.K., Kumar, R.L., Ramalingam, V.V. et al. Additive Manufacturing of Ti-6Al-4V alloy for Biomedical Applications. J Bio Tribo Corros 8, 98 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40735-022-00700-1

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