BIOCOMPITABLE

TITANIUM ALLOYS

Submitted by:

Shail Viradiya (141030011018)

Shreyansh Shukla (141030011020)
Prarup Sahu(141030011016)
Devarshi Patel (141030011004)
Ketulkumar Patel (141030011011)
Ashutosh Gupta (141030011003)

Ti-6Al-4V

Background
The high strength, low weight, outstanding corrosion resistance and
biocompatibility possessed by titanium and titanium alloys have led to a wide
and diversified range of successful applications which demand high levels of
reliable performance in surgery and medicine as well as in aerospace,
biomedical, automotive, chemical plant, power generation, oil and gas
extraction, sports, and other major industries.

Performance
Fit and forget, is an essential requirement where equipment in critical
applications, once installed, cannot readily be maintained or replaced. There is
no more challenging use in this respect than implants in the human body. Here,
the effectiveness and reliability of implants, and medical and surgical
instruments and devices is an essential factor in saving lives and in the long
term relief of suffering and pain. Implantation represents a potential assault on
the chemical, physiological and mechanical structure of the human body. There
is nothing comparable to a metallic implant in living tissue. Most metals in body
fluids and tissue are found in stable organic complexes. Corrosion of implanted
metal by body fluids, results in the release of unwanted metallic ions, with likely
interference in the processes of life. Corrosion resistance is not sufficient of itself
to suppress the bodys reaction to cell toxic metals or allergenic elements such
as nickel, and even in very small concentrations from a minimum level of
corrosion, these may initiate rejection reactions. Titanium is judged to be
completely inert and immune to corrosion by all body fluids and tissue, and is
thus wholly bio-compatible.
So required performance by alloy:

Strong
Lightweight
Corrosion Resistant
Cost-efficient
Non-toxic
Biocompatible (non-toxic AND not rejected by the body)
Long-lasting
Non-ferromagnetic
Long range availability
Flexibility and elasticity rivals that of human bone

Ti 6Al-4V may be considered in any biomedical application, particularly for

implantable components, because of its biocompatibility, good fatigue strength,
and low modulus. It could also be considered for any application where a
combination of high strength, light weight, good corrosion resistance, and high
toughness are required. Some typical applications where this alloy has been used
successfully include joint replacements, bone fixation devices, surgical clips, and
cryogenic vessels.

Properties
Chemical Composition
Materi
al
wt %

Ti

Al

Fe

0.08

Balance
d

5.5 to
6.5

3.5 to
4.5

0.05

0.25

0.13

0.013

Mechanical Properties
Table 1: Chemical Composition of Ti-6Al-4V

Yield Strength
Ultimate Tensile Strength (Rm)
Rockwell Hardness
Elongation
Reduction of Area
Fatigue Strength @ 600MPa
Modulus of Elasticity
Magnetic Properties

795 MPa
860 MPA
30-35 HRC
>10%
>25%
>1,000,000 cycles
110 GPa
None

1) Low Modulus
The elastic moduli and strength of titanium and its alloys are much higher than
those of human bones, which may result in stress shielding and the failure of
implants. So Ti-6Al-4V was developed to reduce the modulus of the implants to
the level approaching human bones. On the other hand, the mechanical
properties of porous titanium can be adjusted by pore fraction and morphology,
and the stress shielding effect will be reduced. The modulus of elasticity of these
materials is about 110 GPa. This is much lower than stainless steels and Co-base
alloys modulus (210 and 240 GPa, respectively. When compared by specific
strength (strength/density) the Ti-6Al-4V alloy exceed any other implant
materials.
2) High Corrosion Resistance
Ti 6Al-4V spontaneously and immediately forms a stable, continuous, tightly
adherent oxide film upon exposure to oxygen in air or water. This accounts for its
excellent corrosion resistance in a variety of media. Ti 6Al-4V is highly resistant
to general corrosion in most aqueous solutions, as well as in oxidizing acids,
chlorides (in the presence of water), and alkalis. Part of the reason for Ti 6Al-4V's
good biocompatibility is its corrosion resistance. Body fluids are basically chloride
brines with a pH range from about 7.4 to acidic, other organic compoundsconditions under which Ti 6Al-4V ELI is highly immune to corrosion.

Table 2: Chemical Resistivity of Ti-6Al-4V

Chemical
Sulfuric Acid
(H2SO4)
Sodium Hydroxide
(NaOH)
Sea Water

Resistivity
Performance
Moderate

Chemical
Acetic Acid

Resistivity
Performance
Excellent

Moderate

Salt Spray

Excellent

Excellent

Humidity

Excellent

Structure
Titanium alloys are generally classified into three main categories:
alloys: Pure Titanium alloys with stabilizer such as Aluminium and Tin, both
singly or in combination, are HCP at ordinary temperatures and therefore
classified as alloy, as for example the commercial alloy Ti5Al-2.5Sn. These
solutes are not transition metal, known as Simple Metal (SM). The stability
based on electron screening can be explained in the following way: When simple
metals such as Aluminium, are dissolve in Titanium, only few electron appear at
the Fermi level, most electrons go to states in the lower part of the band.
alloys: The Transitional Metal (TM) solutes stabilize the BCC phase, so all
alloys generally contain large amount of one or more of the so-called isomorphous- forming additions, vanadium, niobium, tantalum and
molybdenum. alloys are metastable, and cold work at ambient temperature or
heating to a slightly elevate temperature can be result in partial transformation
to phase. After solution treatment, metastable alloys are usually aged at
temperatures of 450C to 650C in order to partially transform the phase to .
The then forms as finely dispersed particle in the retained , and strength
levels comparable to, or even superior to, those attainable in aged + alloys
can be achieved.
+ alloys: The alloy belonging to the + system contains one or more
stabilizer or soluble element together with one or more stabilizing elements.
At room temperature equilibrium these alloy usually support a mixture of and
phase, to an extent depending on the amount and type of stabilizing element.
Ti-6Al-4V is a + alloy, with 6 wt % Aluminium stabilizing the phase and 4 wt
% Vanadium stabilizing the phase. At room temperature the microstructure at
equilibrium consists mainly of the phase (having HCP structure) with some
phase (having BCC structure).

Reference:
I.
II.

Arcam EBM system datasheet

Titanium as a Biomaterial for Implants (Carlos Oldani and Alejandro
Dominguez, Department of Materials and Technology, Faculty of Exact,

Figure 1:Main crystal structure of Titanium

III.
IV.

Physical and Natural Sciences, Universidad Nacional de Crdoba

Argentina)
Carpenter Titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V Technical datasheet
Licentiate thesis on Microstructure and Phase Transformation of Ti-6Al4V by
LULE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY