Development of Beta Titanium Alloys by Spark Plasma Sintering

Beta titanium alloys have attracted considerable attention especially for orthopedic implants applications owing to their unique combination of low elastic modulus, superior bio-corrosion resistance and excellent biocompatibility. However, the PM production of these alloys is difficult due to the significant amount of refractory metals (Ta, Mo, Zr, Nb, etc). This work presents a processing route combining mechanical mixing of elemental powders (pre-alloying) and Spark Plasma Sintering in order to obtain fully dense materials with homogeneous microstructure. Two different compositions (TiMo and TiNb) with high amount of alloying elements were developed. The alloys were sintered at temperatures between 1100 and 1250ºC. The phases were evaluated by X-ray diffraction and diffraction of backscattered electrons, appreciating its mechanical properties by micro-hardness and bending tests. A transformation to Beta Titanium is obtained predominantly with a small grain size, and micro-hardness in the order of forged materials.