Medical applications where tribocorrosion has to be considered are orthopaedic and prosthetic implants, hip joints, amalgam restorative materials, and orthodontic brackets-archwire structures. In most cases, the degradation of biocompatible implant materials can lead to failure of medical therapy and cause a tissue inflammation. The dependence of the tribocorrosion of stainless steels AISI 304L orthodontic archwires sliding against corundum in Ringer�s solution on applied normal force, and sliding velocity, has been investigated using in-situ electrochemical current-potential measurements. Applied normal force and sliding velocity were found to greatly affect current and potential during fretting-corrosion. An increase in normal force and sliding velocity induce an increase in current and a decrease in potential accelerating the depassivation rate of the tested stainless steels. Sliding wear affects the repassivation behaviour of stainless steel by increasing the anodic current in the wear track area.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.