Wear studies on plasma-sprayed Al2O3 and 8mole% of Yttrium-stabilized ZrO2 composite coating on biomedical Ti-6Al-4V alloy for orthopedic joint application.
This paper presents the wear characteristics of the composite ceramic coating made with Al2O3-40wt%8YSZ on the biomedical grade Ti-6Al-4V alloy (grade 5) used for total joint prosthetic components, with the aim of improving their tribological behavior. The coatings were deposited using a plasma spraying technique, and optimization of plasma parameters was performed using response surface methodology to obtain dense coating. The tribological behaviors of the coated and uncoated substrates were evaluated using a ball-on-plate sliding wear tester at 37°C in simulated body-fluid conditions. The microstructure of both the titanium alloy and coated specimen were examined using an optical microscope and scanning electron microscope. The hardness of the plasma-sprayed alumina-zirconia composite coatings was 2.5 times higher than that of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy, while the wear rate of Ti-6Al-4V alloy was 253 times higher than that of the composite-coated Ti-6Al-4V alloy. The superior wear resistance of the alumina-zirconia coated alloy is attributed to its enhanced hardness and intersplat bonding strength. Wear-track examination showed that the predominant wear mechanism of Ti-6Al-4V alloy was abrasive and adhesive wear, whereas, in the case of alumina-zirconia composite coated alloy, the wear was dominated by microchipping and microcracking.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, VRS College of Engineering and Technology, Arasur, Villupuram, Tamil Nadu, India.
Perumal
P
Ganapathy
Centre for Biomaterials Science and Technology, SMBS, VIT University, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
Geetha
G
Manivasagam
Department of Physics, Dhanalakshmi Engineering College, Anna University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
Asokamani
A
Rajamanickam
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pondicherry Engineering College, Pondicherry, Puducherry, India.
Alagumurthi
A
Natarajan
D000497:Alloys / Q000737:chemistry; D000537:Aluminum Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000737:chemistry; D002516:Ceramics; D006244:Hardness; D006801:Humans; D007595:Joint Prosthesis; D008422:Materials Testing; D009985:Orthopedics; D010949:Plasma / Q000737:chemistry*; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*; D015019:Yttrium / Q000737:chemistry*; D015040:Zirconium / Q000737:chemistry*
D000497:Alloys; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; C031462:titanium alloy (TiAl6V4); D015019:Yttrium; D015040:Zirconium; D014025:Titanium; D000537:Aluminum Oxide; C028541:zirconium oxide
Hank’s solution; Ti-6Al-4V alloy; alumina–zirconia; titanium; wear