Corrosion and Tribological Studies on Additively Manufactured Gyroid Ti-6Al-4V with Varied Porosity Percentage for Orthopaedic Application

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the tribological and corrosive characteristics of an additively printed gyroid Ti-6Al-4V for Bio medical implant application. Methods: Direct Metal Laser Sintering with regulated input process parameters were used to print the samples. Corrosion investigations have been completely investigated using Potentiodynamic polarization under simulated body fluid conditions. The wear parameters for the samples were maintained with normal load ranging from 10 to 50 N, with sliding velocity ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 m/s for a sliding distance of 1000 m. The further study investigates the impact of load and velocity on the coefficient of friction (COF) and wear rate of the Gyroid samples. Findings: According to the results obtained, the material with the highest resistance to corrosion is exhibited by gyroid lattice Ti-6Al-4V that has a porosity of 60%. These samples exhibited by a worn-out rate of 2 x 10-11 m 3 /m and 5.3 x 10-11 m 3 /m for the normal load of 10 N and 50 N respectively. Minimum wear rate of 3.3 x 10-11 m 3 /m was obtained for a sliding velocity of 0.5 m/s, where a maximum wear rate was obtained at 1.5 m/s of 3.7 x 10-11 m 3 /m. Sample C has better tribological properties and is shown good wear resistance, when compared to sample A & B, which is attributed to the highest micro hardness of sample C of 467 HV. Novelty: The work presented in this study exhibits a unique approach by fabricating a gyroid lattice structure with varying levels of porosity. The limited availability of literature on tribological and corrosion issues necessitates the identification of a unique research need. An investigation of the effect of wear mechanisms on the tribological features of Gyroid Ti-6Al-4V is considered to be a unique research attempt.