Nthabiseng Abigail Moshokoa

The design and development of metastable β-Ti alloys with non-toxic elements that are used in the manufacturing of orthopedic implants are gaining significant research attention. In this work, two metastable β-Ti alloys, binary alloy of Ti-17Mo wt% (referred as Alloy A) and ternary alloy of Ti-16.5Mo-1.1Fe wt% alloy (referred as Alloy B) were designed with different values of electronic parameters such as the Molybdenum equivalence ( Moeq ), electron to atom ratio ( e/a ), and the Bo-Md . The contribution of the electronic parameters in influencing the formation of phases and the elastic modulus is discussed. Phase characterization and tensile properties of the alloys after solution treatment at 1100 °C and quenched in ice-brine were carried out using different techniques. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and optical microscopy (OM) micrographs showed that with increasing e/a ratio the β phase stability increases. EBSD phase maps showed the decrease in the volume fractions of α″and ω phases upon addition of Fe. With increase in stability of β phase, the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elastic modulus decreased from 912 MPa to 540 MPa and 82 GPa to 73 GPa in Alloy A and Alloy B, respectively. On the other hand, the increase in the β phase stability resulted in increased hardness from 366 Hv _0.5 for Alloy A to 428 Hv _0.5 in Alloy B. Using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), a combination of cleavage facets and dimpled structure were observered in both alloys.

Compression properties of three binary Ti–Mo alloys for potential use as load-bearing implants were investigated in this study. Three binary alloys, namely, Ti–15Mo, Ti–17Mo, and Ti–20Mo, were designed using theoretical predictive methods and produced using a plasma melting system. Melted ingots were heat treated in a muffle furnace at 1100 °C for 1 h and quenched in ice brine water. X-ray diffraction patterns demonstrated β + α″ phase peaks, deformation mechanisms showed thin parallel plates in TM15, wide deformation bands, and wavy thin lines in TM17 and wavy thin lines only in TM20 alloy. Compressive yield and ultimate strength as well as hardness decreased with an increase in Mo content. On contrary, compression strain increased with increasing Mo content. Graphical abstract

The influence of solution treatment on the phase evolution and tensile properties of Ti-Mo alloys was investigated to assess their potential use in biomedical applications. Phase formation and microstructural evolution were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). The mechanical properties were characterized by means of tensile tests and bending strength. XRD analysis showed that solution treatment increased the volume fraction of ß phase and supressed the α" phase. The microstructures of the as-cast alloys consisted of ß equiaxed grains with sub-grain structures of different sizes, while the solution treated alloys comprised ß equiaxed grains only except for Ti-10.02Mo, which comprised needle-like a" structures. EBSD showed an increase in the volume fraction of the ω and α" phases in all the alloys after solution treatment. The elastic modulus and UTS of all the alloy significantly decreased after solution treatment, except for Ti-15.05Mo, whereas the elongation significantly increased. The fracture surfaces of all the alloys after solution treatment indicated more ductile behaviour than brittle.

This study presents the phase analysis, microstructural characteristics, and mechanical property evaluation of the as-cast and quenched Ti–15Mo–xFe alloys with high iron content ranging from 4 to 12 weight percent. All the four alloys were produced in a vacuum-arc melting furnace. Heat treatment in the form of solution treatment was performed in a muffle furnace at a temperature of 1100 °C, with 1-h holding time and the samples were rapidly quenched in ice-brine. X-ray diffractometer (XRD) was used to analyses the phases present in each alloy whereas the optical microscope (OM) was employed to track the microstructural evolution and percentage porosity. The mechanical properties of the alloys were evaluated using a tensile test and compression test method while the micro-Vickers hardness measurements were conducted to evaluate hardness of the alloys. The XRD patterns of as-cast showed peaks belonging to the β and α″ phases and intermetallic B2 TiFe phases. The as quenched XRD peaks illustrated β phase only and Fe·Ti·O₂ phases. The as-cast OM micrographs revealed equiaxed β grains, substructures, dendritic structure, and pores forming around the grain boundaries. The quenched OM showed only β equiaxed grains with pores throughout the grain boundaries. The tensile properties such as ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elastic modulus (E) of as-cast TMF0 were 264 MPa and 79 GPa respectively and these properties changed upon quenching to 411 MPa and 66 GPa respectively. The elastic modulus of TMF1 in as-cast condition was 74 GPa. The UTS and E of TMF1, TMF2, and TMF3 in as-cast and quenched conditions were not recorded due to the fragility of the samples that failed prior to yielding any useful data. The compressive strength in as-cast and in quenched condition decreased with an increase in Fe content. The micro-Vickers hardness in as-cast and quenched conditions showed a similar trend with hardness increasing slightly upon quenching for TMF0, TMF1, and TMF3 alloys but slightly decreased in the case of TMF2. The fracture surfaces of all the as-cast and quenched alloys were comprised of ductile and brittle fracture.

The present study conducts the phase analysis, microstructural characteristics, and mechanical property evaluation on the as-cast and quenched Ti-15Mo-xFe alloys with high iron content ranging from 4 to 12 weight percent. All the four alloys were produced in a button-arc melting furnace. Heat treatment in the form of solution treatment was performed in a muffle furnace at a temperature of 1100°C, with a 1-hour holding time. The samples were rapidly quenched in ice-brine. Various characterization techniques were used to analyze samples both in the as cast and quenched conditions. X-ray diffractometer (XRD) was used to analyses the phases present in each alloy whereas the optical microscope (OM) was employed to track the microstructural evolution. The mechanical properties of the alloys were evaluated using a tensile test method while the micro-Vickers hardness measurements were conducted to evaluate hardness of the alloys. OM micrographs revealed equiaxed β grains and substructures in as-cast TMF0, dendritic structure, and equiaxed β grains with pores forming around the grain boundaries in TMF1, and micrograph full of dendrites and pores was observed in the as-cast TMF2 and TMF3 alloys. The quenched TMF0 showed only β equiaxed grains whereas TMF1, TMF2, and TMF3 revealed micrographs full of equiaxed grains of β phase with pores throughout the grain boundaries. The XRD patterns of cast TMF0 showed peaks belonging to the β and orthorhombic α″ martensitic phases and the quenched sample showed the bcc β phase only. The TMF1, TMF2, and TMF3 alloys in as-cast condition indicated peaks belonging to β , α″ and intermetallic B2 TiFe phases, however, their quenched samples showed the presence of β and Fe·Ti·O2 phases in TMF2 and TMF3 alloys. The tensile properties such as ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elastic modulus (E) of as-cast TMF0 were 264 MPa and 79 GPa and these properties changed upon quenching to 411 MPa and 66 GPa respectively. The elastic modulus of TMF1 in as-cast condition was 74 GPa. The UTS and E of TMF1, TMF2, and TMF3 in as cast and quenched conditions were not recorded due to the fragility of the samples that failed prior to yielding any useful data. The micro-Vickers hardness in as cast and quenched conditions showed a similar trend with hardness increasing slightly upon quenching for TMF0, TMF1, and TMF3 alloys but slightly decreased in the case of TMF2. 6). The fracture surfaces of TMF0 exhibited both ductile and brittle fracture in as cast and quenched conditions whereas the only brittle fracture mode was observed in the TMF1, TMF2 and TMF3 alloys in both conditions.