Surface Modification of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy by Electrical Discharge Coating Process Using Partially Sintered Ti-Nb Electrode

In the present research, a composite layer of TiO2-TiC-NbO-NbC was coated on the Ti-64 alloy using two different methods (i.e., the electric discharge coating (EDC) and electric discharge machining processes) while the Nb powder were mixed in dielectric fluid. The effect produced on the machined surfaces by both processes was reported. The influence of Nb-concentration along with the EDC key parameters (Ip and Ton) on the coated surface integrity such as surface topography, micro-cracks, coating layer thickness, coating deposition, micro-hardness has been evaluated as well. It has been noticed that in the EDC process the high peak current and high Nb-powder concentration allow improvement in the material migration, and a crack-free thick layer (215 μm) on the workpiece surface is deposited. The presence of various oxides and carbides on the coated surface further enhanced the mechanical properties, especially, the wear resistance, corrosion resistance and bioactivity. The surface hardness of the coated layer is increased from 365 HV to 1465 HV. Furthermore, the coated layer reveals a higher adhesion strength (~118 N), which permits to enhance the wear resistance of the Ti-64 alloy. This proposed technology allows modification of the mechanical properties and surface characteristics according to an orthopedic implant’s requirements.

[1]  H. Singh,et al.  Current Trends in Biomaterials and Bio-manufacturing , 2019, Biomanufacturing.

[2]  Sunpreet Singh,et al.  Multi-objective particle swarm optimization of EDM parameters to deposit HA-coating on biodegradable Mg-alloy , 2018, Vacuum.

[3]  B. S. Pabla,et al.  Bio-inspired low elastic biodegradable Mg-Zn-Mn-Si-HA alloy fabricated by spark plasma sintering , 2018, Materials and Manufacturing Processes.

[4]  Sunpreet Singh,et al.  Synthesis and characterization of Mg-Zn-Mn-HA composite by spark plasma sintering process for orthopedic applications , 2018, Vacuum.

[5]  Sunpreet Singh,et al.  Synthesis, Characterization, Corrosion Resistance and In-Vitro Bioactivity Behavior of Biodegradable Mg–Zn–Mn–(Si–HA) Composite for Orthopaedic Applications , 2018, Materials.

[6]  B. S. Pabla,et al.  Synthesis, characterization, corrosion and bioactivity investigation of nano-HA coating deposited on biodegradable Mg-Zn-Mn alloy , 2018, Surface and Coatings Technology.

[7]  B. Bhushan,et al.  Fabrication and Characterization of a New Range of β-type Ti-Nb-Ta-Zr-xHaP (x=0, 10) Alloy by Mechanical Alloying and Spark Plasma Sintering for Biomedical Applications , 2018 .

[8]  C. Prakash,et al.  Surface modification of β-phase Ti implant by hydroaxyapatite mixed electric discharge machining to enhance the corrosion resistance and in-vitro bioactivity , 2017 .

[9]  T. Ginta,et al.  A Review of Additive Mixed-Electric Discharge Machining: Current Status and Future Perspectives for Surface Modification of Biomedical Implants , 2017 .

[10]  C. Prakash,et al.  Fabrication and characterization of Ti-Nb-HA alloy by mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering for hard tissue replacements , 2017, IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering.

[11]  P. K. Patowari,et al.  Post processing of the layer deposited by electric discharge coating , 2017 .

[12]  B. S. Pabla,et al.  Experimental investigations in powder mixed electric discharge machining of Ti–35Nb–7Ta–5Zrβ-titanium alloy , 2017 .

[13]  B. S. Pabla,et al.  Potential of Silicon Powder-Mixed Electro Spark Alloying for Surface Modification of β-Phase Titanium Alloy for Orthopedic Applications , 2017 .

[14]  Sanjeev Puri,et al.  Powder Mixed Electric Discharge Machining: An Innovative Surface Modification Technique to Enhance Fatigue Performance and Bioactivity of β-Ti Implant for Orthopedics Application , 2016, J. Comput. Inf. Sci. Eng..

[15]  B. S. Pabla,et al.  Effect of Surface Nano-Porosities Fabricated by Powder Mixed Electric Discharge Machining on Bone-Implant Interface: An Experimental and Finite Element Study , 2016 .

[16]  S. Ou,et al.  Fabrication of a hydroxyapatite-containing coating on Ti–Ta alloy by electrical discharge coating and hydrothermal treatment , 2016 .

[17]  Chander Prakash,et al.  Multi-objective optimization of powder mixed electric discharge machining parameters for fabrication of biocompatible layer on β-Ti alloy using NSGA-II coupled with Taguchi based response surface methodology , 2016 .

[18]  X. Jie,et al.  Titanium carbide coating with enhanced tribological properties obtained by EDC using partially sintered titanium electrodes and graphite powder mixed dielectric , 2016 .

[19]  Bülent Ekmekci,et al.  Electrical Discharge Machining of Ti6Al4V in Hydroxyapatite Powder Mixed Dielectric Liquid , 2016 .

[20]  Afzaal Ahmed.  Deposition and Analysis of Composite Coating on Aluminum Using Ti–B4C Powder Metallurgy Tools in EDM , 2016 .

[21]  B. S. Pabla,et al.  Electric discharge machining – A potential choice for surface modification of metallic implants for orthopedic applications: A review , 2016 .

[22]  B. S. Pabla,et al.  To optimize the surface roughness and microhardness of β-Ti alloy in PMEDM process using Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II , 2015, 2015 2nd International Conference on Recent Advances in Engineering & Computational Sciences (RAECS).

[23]  B. S. Pabla,et al.  Processing and Characterization of Novel Biomimetic Nanoporous Bioceramic Surface on β-Ti Implant by Powder Mixed Electric Discharge Machining , 2015, Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance.

[24]  Hainol Akbar Zaman,et al.  Metallic Biomaterials for Medical Implant Applications: A Review , 2015 .

[25]  V. Senthilkumar,et al.  Synthesis of electric discharge alloyed nickel–tungsten coating on tool steel and its tribological studies , 2014 .

[26]  P. K. Patowari,et al.  Parametric Study of Electric Discharge Coating using Powder Metallurgical Green Compact Electrodes , 2014 .

[27]  S. Qu,et al.  New Developments of Ti-Based Alloys for Biomedical Applications , 2014, Materials.

[28]  B. Yan,et al.  Dry Electrical Discharge Coating Process on Aluminum by Using Titanium Powder Compact Electrode , 2013 .

[29]  Tzu-Sen Yang,et al.  Effect of Electrical Discharging on Formation of Nanoporous Biocompatible Layer on Ti-6Al-4V Alloys , 2013, Implant dentistry.

[30]  Tzu-Sen Yang,et al.  Nanoporous biocompatible layer on Ti-6Al-4V alloys enhanced osteoblast-like cell response , 2013 .

[31]  Apiwat Muttamara,et al.  Surface modification of tungsten carbide by electrical discharge coating (EDC) using a titanium powder suspension , 2012 .

[32]  Gao Yang,et al.  Electro-spark alloying using graphite electrode on titanium alloy surface for biomedical applications , 2011 .

[33]  P. Saha,et al.  Surface Integrity of C-40 Steel Processed with WC-Cu Powder Metallurgy Green Compact Tools in EDM , 2011 .

[34]  K. Ou,et al.  Effect of electrical-discharging on formation of nanoporous biocompatible layer on titanium , 2010 .

[35]  A. Singh,et al.  Ti based biomaterials, the ultimate choice for orthopaedic implants – A review , 2009 .

[36]  P. Chu,et al.  Surface modification of titanium, titanium alloys, and related materials for biomedical applications , 2004 .

[37]  Wansheng Zhao,et al.  Surface modification process by electrical discharge machining with a Ti powder green compact electrode , 2002 .

[38]  Y. Zhou,et al.  In vitro bioactivity of a biocomposite fabricated from HA and Ti powders by powder metallurgy method. , 2002, Biomaterials.

[39]  N. Mohri,et al.  Accretion of titanium carbide by electrical discharge machining with powder suspended in working fluid , 2001 .