Microstructure and mechanical properties of binary Ti-Nb alloys for application in medicine

Abstract

A systematic study of Ti-Nb binary as-melt alloys has been carried out. The alloying content of Nb varied from 10 wt % to 50 wt %. All alloys were produced by vacuum arc melting in inert argon atmosphere and no further heat treatment was conducted to research the as-melt structures. The results indicate that below an alloying content of 30 wt % no β-phase was formed and the alloys consist of α'-phase, at 10 wt % Nb, or respectively, a mixture of α' and α”-phase at 20 wt %. The maximum hardness increases up to a peak of 249 ± 6.95 HV0.05 at 30 wt % Nb and decrease after it. All compositions show higher microhardness than cp-Ti.