New Ti-35Nb-7Zr-5Ta Alloy Manufacturing by Electron Beam Melting for Medical Application Followed by High Current Pulsed Electron Beam Treatment

High-current pulsed electron-beam (PEB) treatment was applied as a surface finishing procedure for Ti-35Nb-7Zr-5Ta (TNZT) alloy produced by electron beam melting (EBM). According to the XRD results the TNZT alloy samples before and after the PEB treatment have shown mainly the single body-centered cubic (bcc) beta-phase microstructures. The crystallite size, dislocation density, and microstrain remain unchanged after the PEB treatment. The investigation of the texture coefficient at the different grazing angle revealed the evolution of the crystallite orientations at the re-melted zone formed at the top of the bulk samples after the PEB treatment. The top-view SEM micrographs of the TNZT samples treated by PEB exhibited the bcc beta-phase grains with an average size of similar to 85 mu m. TEM analysis of as-manufactured TNZT alloy revealed the presence of the equiaxed beta-grains with the fine dispersion of nanocrystalline alpha and NbTi4 phases together with beta-Ti twins. Meanwhile, the beta phase regions free of alpha phase precipitation are observed in the microstructure after the PEB irradiation. Nanoindentation tests revealed that the surface mechanical properties of the melted zone were slightly improved. However, the elastic modulus and microhardness in the heat-affected zone and the deeper regions of the sample were not changed after the treatment. Moreover, the TNZT alloy in the bulk region manufactured by EBM displayed no significant change in the corrosion resistance after the PEB treatment. Hence, it can be concluded that the PEB irradiation is a viable approach to improve the surface topography of EBM-manufactured TNZT alloy, while the most important mechanical parameters remain unchanged.

Automated summary

The TNZT alloy samples treated with high-current pulsed electron-beam showed no change in crystallite size, dislocation density, and microstrain, but there was an evolution in crystallite orientations in the re-melted zone. The surface mechanical properties were slightly improved after treatment, but overall corrosion resistance and important mechanical parameters remained unchanged.