Failure analysis and mechanical testing of Ti–6Al–4V modular revision hip stems

Analysis of five modular titanium hip revision stems that failed in vivo was undertaken. The average time to failure was 4.0?±?0.6 years with a range from 3.0 years to 4.9 years. The average age of the patients was 68.4?±?7.6 years with a range of 61–81 years and the average mass was 88.0?±?10.3?kg with a range of 71.7–98.9?kg. All five stems failed through fatigue just inside the taper junction between the stem and body. Microscopic analysis failed to detect any evidence of significant corrosion at the junction. Metallurgical analysis found that the material properties for the femoral stems were in agreement with typical values for Ti–6Al–4V. Mechanical testing revealed that fatigue failure would occur only with loads above 5000?N. This is far above any repetitive load that any of these stems would have undergone in vivo. Finite element analysis simulating a ‘worst case’ scenario demonstrated that a maximum tensile stress of 350?MPa would occur near the location of fracture seen on the retrieved stems. This stress is well below the fatigue limit of the titanium alloy. The exact location of the fracture in the mechanically tested components was affected by the assembly technique. It is suggested that the assembly technique could add considerable residual stress to the femoral stems causing them to fail well below the theoretical fatigue limit. Consideration for further investigation includes residual stresses within the implant secondary to assembly technique, and other unexplored factors that may lead to early fatigue failure.     

Effect of annealing treatment on microstructure and mechanical properties of hot isostatic pressing compacts fabricated using Ti–6Al–4V powder

The effects of annealing temperature and annealing time on microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of Ti–6Al–4V titanium alloy prepared using powder hot isostatic pressing were investigated. The results showed that when annealing temperature was <?1173?K, the globularisation of primary α was observed, and the morphology of secondary α changed from acicular shapes to acicular and continuous lathy grains. Scanning electron microscopy fracture surface showed that the fracture mechanism changed from transcrystalline dimple type to a mixture of transcrystalline and intercrystalline dimple types with increasing annealing temperature. The tensile strength and elongation varied with the temperature in an opposite trend. However, they varied similarly with increasing annealing time. Microhardness was sensitive to the annealing time, resulting into a maximum microhardness of 396.95?HV at 1173?K for 3?h.     

Influence of sintering conditions on tensile and high cycle fatigue behaviour of powder injection moulded Ti–6Al–4V at ambient and elevated temperatures

Abstract

Tensile and high cycle fatigue properties of Ti–6Al–4V samples fabricated by powder injection moulding (PIM) are examined at room temperature and elevated temperatures. Standard wrought Ti–6Al–4V material is used for comparison. The tensile and the fatigue strength of samples fabricated by powder injection moulding are found to be significantly lower than conventional wrought material. On the other hand, strength and ductility of metal injection moulded (MIM) samples are high enough to be of large practical interest, in particular if the low processing costs for intricate shapes are taken into account. The inferior properties of the MIM material are caused by considerable remaining porosity, enlarged grain size and increased interstitial content. Prolonged sintering times lead to improved density and strength. At the same time, the room temperature ductility is observed to drop to very low levels, presumably because of additional grain growth.     

Fatigue strength of a Ti–6Al–4V alloy produced by selective laser melting

The fatigue properties and the fracture mechanisms of the Ti–6Al–4V alloy produced by selective laser melting (SLM) from a powder of an CL41TiELI titanium alloy have been studied. Cylindrical blanks were grown at angles of 90° and 45° to a platform. The best fatigue strength is observed in the samples the blanks of which were grown at an angle of 45°. It is found that the structure of the SLM material can contain portions with unmelted powder particles, which are the places of initiation of fatigue cracks.     

Hot forging of Ti–6Al–4V alloy preforms produced by spark plasma sintering of powders

Abstract

Powder preform forging is a technology that comprises the preparation of near net shape preforms through powder metallurgy and a subsequent hot forging in order to obtain the desired final shape. In this work, two Ti–6Al–4V powder preforms were sintered through spark plasma sintering (SPS) and then hot compressed in a horizontal dilatometer. Varying the temperature of the process, two full density preforms having different microstructures were produced: sintering at 950°C, a plate-like α was obtained, whereas sintering at 1050°C, an acicular α was obtained. The behaviour of the preforms under hot forging has been studied through hot compression tests carried out in a quenching and deformation dilatometer in a range of temperature and strain rates typically used in hot forging this alloy (850–1050°C, 0·01–1 s^?1). Hot workability has been evaluated by measuring the stresses required for deformation and by analysing both the stress–strain curves recorded during testing and the microstructures after deformation. The main microstructural phenomena occurring during hot compression were individuated. The best conditions for the hot forging operation of SPS preform are temperatures above β transus, where the materials are deformed in a regime of dynamic recrystallisation, at every strain rate.     

Dry Sliding Wear Behaviour of Ti–6Al–4V Alloy Consisting of Bimodal Microstructure

In the present paper, dry sliding wear behaviour of Ti–6Al–4V titanium alloy consisting of bimodal microstructure sliding against EN-31 steel at different sliding velocities (0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 m/s) and applied loads (60, 80 and 100 N) has been studied using a multiple Tribo tester and the results are presented. Two wear mechanisms have been identified irrespective of the applied load: oxidative wear occurs at the lowest sliding velocities and delamination wear occurs at the highest. Results indicated that by increasing the sliding velocity a transition from oxidative wear to delamination wear occurs with a corresponding minimum in the loss of volume due to wear. These results have been described by the analysis of the wear debris and that of the worn specimens using XRD, optical microscopy, FESEM and interpreted based on the metallurgical characteristics of titanium alloys which influence the wear resistance.     

Microstructural investigation of as cast and PREP atomised Ti–6Al–4V alloy

Abstract

A microstructure characterisation of Ti–6Al–4V is conducted for cast, extruded and micrometre sized particles. The plasma rotating electrode process is used to produce spherical Ti–6Al–4V powders from an alloy electrode. The process parameters and their impact on the material properties are described. The effects of electrode rotation speed on the particle size distribution, particle shape and crystal structure are investigated in detail. Optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy are used for microstructural characterisation. The analysis shows that cast and extruded Ti–6Al–4V alloys have equiaxial α and α+β phase structures, while plasma rotating electrode processed powder from the same alloy compositions has an acicular or martensitic (α) structure. The microstructure scale depends on the particle size. Microhardness measurements are used to assess mechanical property dependence on the microstructure of this alloy. The rapidly cooled alloy particles have much higher hardness than cast or extruded bulk alloy.     

Influence of heat treatment conditions on the mechanical properties of Ti–6Al–4V alloy

In the current work, several heat treatments were carried out below and above the beta-transition temperature of the Ti–6Al–4V alloy followed by aging at 550 °C for 6 hours. The resultant microstructures and their effects on the mechanical properties of Ti–6Al–4V alloy were investigated. The results showed that solution treatment of Ti–6Al–4V samples followed by water quenching from β and α/β fields raised the alloy hardness from 380 to 575 and 656?HV, respectively, while no remarkable changes were observed after aging. The hot tensile strength of the as-forged sample increased from 671 to 756?MPa after water quenching from the ß- or α/ß- field, while the air cooling from β-phase field decreased the tensile strength to 644 MPa. The fracture mode of the tensile samples was more ductile in case of the solution-treated samples compared to the as-forged samples. A subsurface layer was formed due to the diffusion of oxygen into the surface at high temperatures. This layer which is known as ‘oxygen diffusion layer’ masked the differences of wear behaviour of the specimens.     

Influence of Surface Mechanical Attrition Treatment Duration on Fatigue Lives of Ti–6Al–4V

This work deals with the influence of surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT) duration on fatigue lives of Ti–6Al–4V. The SMAT process was carried out in vacuum with SAE 52100 steel balls of 5 mm diameter for 30 and 60 min at a vibrating frequency of 50 Hz. SMAT treated surface was characterized by electron microscopy. Surface roughness, nano-indentation hardness, residual stress, and tensile properties of the material in both SMAT treated and untreated conditions were determined. SMAT enabled surface nanocrystallization, increased surface roughness, surface hardness, compressive residual stress and tensile strength but reduced ductility. Samples treated for 30 min exhibited superior fatigue lives owing to positive influence of nanostructured surface layer, compressive residual stress and work hardened layer. However, fatigue lives of the samples treated for 60 min were inferior to those of untreated samples due to presence of microdamages or cracks induced by the impacting balls during the treatment.     

The Inhomogeneous Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Ti–6Al–4V Additively Manufactured by Electron Beam Freeform Fabrication

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - Electron beam freeform fabrication (EBF3), a wire-fed directed energy deposition additive manufacturing process that enables high deposition rates of...     

Characterization of Vacuum Plasma Sprayed Reinforced Hydroxyapatite Coatings on Ti–6Al–4V alloy

Two reinforced hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings with an intermediate layer of zirconia were deposited on Ti–6Al–4V by vacuum plasma spray (VPS) technique. In first coating, HA was reinforced with 10 wt % Al₂O₃ whereas in second coating, HA was reinforced with 10 wt % ZrO₂. The objective of this study was to investigate the microstructure, phase formation and mechanical properties like hardness and bond strength of as-sprayed coatings and the coatings after post coating heat treatment at 700 °C for 1 h. The characterization of the coatings was performed by using SEM/EDAX, XRD, porosity, crystallinity and roughness measurement. The coatings were also evaluated for mechanical properties like hardness and tensile bond strength. It was observed that after post coating heat treatment, crystallinity increased and porosity decreased which indicated recrystallization of amorphous phases of as-sprayed coatings. Heat treatment resulted into improvement in cross-sectional hardness, however sharp decrease in bond strength was observed.     

Effect of Microstructure on the Creep Properties of Ti–6Al–4V Alloys: An Analysis

The effects of microstructure types and microstructural parameters on creep properties were investigated systematically through an analysis of microstructure and creep properties of Ti–6Al–4V alloys based on the available literature data. The results indicated that the creep properties of the Ti–6Al–4V alloy are strongly dependent on microstructure type. Creep resistance of Ti–6Al–4V alloys is better in lamellar microstructure followed by bimodal and equiaxed microstructure respectively. Also, microstructural parameters such as the size of both prior beta grain and alpha colony and thickness of alpha lamellae in the lamellar microstructure, the volume fraction of primary alpha phase in bimodal microstructure and size of alpha phase in equiaxed microstructure can influence the creep properties.     

Influence of Microstructure on High Temperature Solid Particle Erosion Behaviour of Ti–6Al–4V Alloy

The present article describes the influence of microstructure i.e. lamellar, bimodal and equiaxed on solid particle erosion behaviour of Ti–6AL–4V alloy at service exposed temperature i.e. 400 °C. Erosion tests have been carried out using an air jet type test rig and Taguchi’s experimental design. From erosion test, it has been observed that impact velocity is the most significant controlling factor influencing the erosion of Ti–6Al–4V alloy followed by impingement angle, size of erodent and microstructural variation.The results indicated that erosion rate of Ti–6Al–4V alloy was less in bimodal microstructure followed by equiaxed and lamellar microstructure.     

Laser Additive Manufactured Ti–6Al–4V Alloy: Heat Treatment Studies

The effect of heat treatment on microstructure and mechanical behaviours of direct metal laser sintered Ti–6Al–4V samples have been studied. Rectangular parts were built in two different directions; vertical and horizontal and subjected to two different heat treatment cycles: above β transus and below β transus with air cooling. Surface characteristics, microstructural examination and mechanical properties have been investigated. Below β transus treatment creates a modification in the surface morphology with a fine dimple network. Above β transus treatment leads to extensive grain growth at the middle section of the vertically build component thereby increasing its microhardness. Both the selected heat treatment cycles significantly reduces the tensile strength and improves the elongation when compared to as-sintered material. However, below transus temperature treated vertical built specimen results in optimum combination of tensile strength (1124 MPa) and elongation (20%). Higher coefficient of friction has been recorded for specimens after heat treatment.     

Comparison of Microstructure Refinement in Wire-Arc Additively Manufactured Ti–6Al–2Sn–4Zr–2Mo–0.1Si and Ti–6Al–4V Built With Inter-Pass Deformation

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - The titanium alloy Ti–6Al–2Sn–4Zr–2Mo–0.1Si (Ti6242) has been deposited for the first time by a directed energy deposition...     

Temperature,Stress and Distortion of Ti–6Al–4V Alloy Low-Temperature Friction Stir Welding Assisted by Trailing Intensive Cooling

The low-temperature friction stir welding (FSW) in which peak temperature is lower than the transus temperature of β phase was achieved using rotational speed of 100 rpm and welding speed of 30 mm/min. Trailing intensive cooling with liquid nitrogen was successfully applied to FSW under the low-temperature welding conditions. Comparisons of the temperature field, plastic strain, residual stress and welding distortion between intensive and conventional cooling were investigated by experiment and simulation. Results reveal that trailing intensive cooling is attributed to shrink high-temperature area and reduce the value of peak temperature and plastic strain. Longitudinal residual stress presents M shape, and the reduction of maximum tensile residual stress reaches 4.8%. The welding distortion shows an anti-saddle shape, and the decrement of welding distortion in transverse direction is 34.5%.     

Directional Hot Isostatic Pressing of Ti6Al4V–SiC Composite with Elements Prepared by Selective Laser Melting Technology

Metallurgist - The process of directional hot isostatic pressing (HIP) of Ti6Al4V-SiC composite is studied in this work. Samples of locally reinforced titanium alloy Ti6Al4V billet are selected,...