Exploration of the Sparck Plasma Sinter Technique for the Manufacture of Implants for Orthopedic Applications: Development of A High-Performance Nbti-Swcnts Nanocomposite Welded Tv6a Alloy and Densification of Preforms

Abstract

Badis Bendjemil, Mohamed Mouyane, Jerome Bernard, David Houivet and Jacques G. Noudem

Nanocomposite Ti 50 wt% Nb with and without reinforcement of carbon nanotubes were successfully fabricated by ball milling of Ti, Nb and SWCNTs (single walled carbon nanotubes) nanopowder mixture folloyed by field actived spark plasma sintering process (FASPS) for biomedical application, superconductivity and magnetism in the ITER Project. The use of brittle Ti powder, instead of ductile elemental powder, led to significant increment in the yield of mechanically alloyed powder. The powder consisted of homogeneously distributed nano-sized Ti/Nb particles together with micronsized pure Nb particles. Sintering of the powders under low temperature and pressure conditions (1273 K, 1473 K and P=50 Mpa) resulted in the fine-grained heterogeneous microstructure consisting of α and β phases. On the other hand, sintering at higher temperatures (1473 K) resulted in a relatively coarse-grained chemically homogeneous microstructure with almost complete phase. Coarse-grained homogeneous β NbTi alloy exhibited higher average hardness as compared to that of heterogeneous fine grained microstructures. An attempt has been made to illustrate the correlation between the microstructural characteristics and mechanical properties of the sintered Ti50Nb compacts. To studies and to develop the influence of SWCNTs on the behavior of the nanocomposite TiNb/SWCNTs and the welding joint interface between TA6V and nanocomposite by sparck plasma sintering. At last, the continuation of the work has been discussed and prepared, planning dynamic flexion tests to measure the NbTi, NbTi/CNTs, NbTi/SWCNTs,/TA6V fatigue limit and developing a computer processing chain in order to customize prostheses respecting patients’ morphology. The fluid ethanchied lubrification of the prosthesis articulation is currently also in study and preparation. Then, a change of scale made possible by the use of an industrial size SPS machine led to the realization of types of blade perform according to patent morphology. These results led to the filing of a patent.

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