title: Microstructure analysis and wear behavior of titanium cermet femoral head with hard TiC layer.
abstract: Titanium cermet was successfully synthesized and formed a thin gradient titanium carbide coating on the surface of Ti6Al4V alloy by using a novel sequential carburization under high temperature, while the titanium cermet femoral head was produced. The titanium cermet phase and surface topography were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD) and backscattered electron imaging (BSE). And then the wear behavior of titanium cermet femoral head was investigated by using CUMT II artificial joint hip simulator. The surface characterization indicates that carbon effectively diffused into the titanium alloys and formed a hard TiC layer on the Ti6Al4V alloys surface with a micro-porous structure. The artificial hip joint experimental results show that titanium cermet femoral head could not only improve the wear resistance of artificial femoral head, but also decrease the wear of UHMWPE joint cup. In addition, the carburized titanium alloy femoral head could effectively control the UHMWPE debris distribution, and increase the size of UHMWPE debris. All of the results suggest that titanium cermet is a prospective femoral head material in artificial joint.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tribology and Reliability Engineering, School of Material Science and Engineering, China University of Mining & Technology, Xuzhou, Jiangsu 221116, PR China. sulyflying@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Shirong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.forename: Hongtao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Zhongmin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jin
mesh_terms: D000497:Alloys; D001843:Bone Cements / Q000737:chemistry*; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible / Q000737:chemistry; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005270:Femur Head / Q000601:surgery*; D006622:Hip Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D013499:Surface Properties; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000497:Alloys; D001843:Bone Cements; D020099:Coated Materials, Biocompatible; C096521:titanium carbide; C031462:titanium alloy (TiAl6V4); D014025:Titanium