Advances in Laser Additive Manufacturing of Ti-Nb Alloys: From Nanostructured Powders to Bulk Objects

The additive manufacturing of low elastic modulus alloys that have a certain level of porosity for biomedical needs is a growing area of research. Here, we show the results of manufacturing of porous and dense samples by a laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) of Ti-Nb alloy, using two distinctive fusion strategies. The nanostructured Ti-Nb alloy powders were produced by mechanical alloying and have a nanostructured state with nanosized grains up to 90 nm. The manufactured porous samples have pronounced open porosity and advanced roughness, contrary to dense samples with a relatively smooth surface profile. The structure of both types of samples after LPBF is formed by uniaxial grains having micro- and nanosized features. The inner structure of the porous samples is comprised of an open interconnected system of pores. The volume fraction of isolated porosity is 2 vol. % and the total porosity is 20 vol. %. Cell viability was assessed in vitro for 3 and 7 days using the MG63 cell line. With longer culture periods, cells showed an increased cell density over the entire surface of a porous Ti-Nb sample. Both types of samples are not cytotoxic and could be used for further in vivo studies

RF Magnetron Sputtering of Substituted Hydroxyapatite for Deposition of Biocoatings

Functionalization of titanium (Ti)-based alloy implant surfaces by deposition of calcium phosphates (CaP) has been widely recognized. Substituted hydroxyapatites (HA) allow the coating properties to be tailored based on the use of different Ca substitutes. The formation of antibacterial CaP coatings with the incorporation of Zn or Cu by an RF magnetron sputtering is proposed. The influence of RF magnetron targets elemental composition and structure in the case of Zn-HA and Cu-HA, and the influence of substrate’s grain size, the substrate’s temperature during the deposition, and post-deposition heat treatment (HT) on the resulting coatings are represented. Sintering the targets at 1150 °C resulted in a noticeable structural change with an increase in cell volume and lattice parameters for substituted HA. The deposition rate of Cu-HA and Zn-HA was notably higher compared to stochiometric HA (10.5 and 10) nm/min vs. 9 ± 0.5 nm/min, respectively. At the substrate temperature below 100 °C, all deposited coatings were found to be amorphous with an atomic short-range order corresponding to the {300} plane of crystalline HA. All deposited coatings were found to be hyper-stochiometric with Ca/P ratios varying from 1.9 to 2.5. An increase in the substrate temperature to 200 °C resulted in the formation of equiaxed grain structure on both coarse-grained (CG) and nanostructured (NS) Ti. The use of NS Ti notably increased the scratch resistance of the deposited coatings from18 ± 1 N to 22 ± 2 N. Influence of HT in air or Ar atmosphere is also discussed. Thus, the deposition of Zn- or Cu-containing CaP is a complex process that could be fine-tuned using the obtained research results

Microstructure, phase composition and hardness of Ti–Au cladding deposited on Ti–6Al–4V substrate by electron beam powder bed fusion method

In this study, a Ti-Au cladding was deposited on a substrate from the Ti-6Al-4V alloy by the electron beam powder bed fusion method in a vacuum. The main goal was to assess the possibility of using titanium powders and gold foils as a feedstock for additive manufacturing of such dental products. The microstructure, chemical element distributions, phase composition and hardness of the formed Ti-Au alloy were studied using optical microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, as well as X-ray diffraction and nanoindentation tests. Goldcontaining intermetallic compounds were observed through the entire cladding thickness. The alpha-Ti, alpha-Au, AuTi and AuTi3 phases were found, in addition to the Ti3Au one, which provided hardness values greater than those of conventional titanium alloys. It was shown by results of the crystal-geometric and X-ray phase analysis that the AuTi3 phase possessed the most densely packed A15 structure. This fact correlated with the obtained data on the deviation of the atomic volume per ion from Zen's law and the high hardness levels. Metallurgical patterns of the microstructure formation that affected the functional properties of such claddings were discussed and a further research direction was proposed

Влияние продолжительности термической обработки на структуру и фазовый состав образцов сплава Co-Cr-Mo, полученных с помощью аддитивных технологий

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) requires application of powders with specific characteristics. These are near-spherical shape of particles, uniform elemental composition, typical particle size of 5 - 70 mu m, etc. Such powders are produced by spheroidization methods. They have such disadvantages as high cost and sale only in large quantities. There are publications describing application in LPBF powders, produced by the methods, alternative to spheroidiz,ation. In the current study, powders of pure raw Co, Cr and Mo were used for the production of Co-Cr-Mo powder mixture. Samples of Co-28 wt.% Cr-6 wt.% Mo alloy were produced by LPBF from this powder mixture. Due to the difference between melting temperatures of Co, Cr and Mo, inclusions of Cr and Mo were formed within the bulk of samples. Studies of phase and elemental composition, structure and microhardness of the as-produced samples and after post-treatment with varied duration are represented. As-produced samples have non-uniform elemental composition and are represented by the main Co-based phase. Increasing the annealing duration leads to the sequential dissolution of un-melted Cr and Mo inclusions. Complete dissolution of Cr particles was observed at 10 hours of treatment and complete dissolution of Mo particles was not observed after 20 hours of annealing. Microhardness non-linearly changes with the increasing duration of annealing. This is due to the phase transformations and diffusion processes occurring at such type of post-treatment. Complete dissolution of Mo-particles could be achieved by further increasing the annealing time or by varying the mode of laser powder bed fusion

Noteworthy records of plants, lichens and fungi in Murmansk Region, II

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