Investigation of the Mechanical and Biological Properties of Ti6Al4V-Cenosphere Porous Composite Made by Spark Plasma Sintering Equipment

Abstract

Porous samples have been of great interest in orthopedic implants owing to their significance to facilitate the osteogenesis process and reduction of sheath stresses. The goal of this research is to synthesize Ti6Al4V-Cenosphere porous composite samples using the spark plasma sintering (SPS) method as well as to investigate their mechanical properties and biocompatibility. Accordingly, the synthesis of the samples was performed under relative densification conditions for 5 min at 850 °C at an applied pressure of 5 MPa and a heating rate of 100 °C/min. The phases formed, the morphology of powders, porosity, distribution of pores, fractography, the density of samples, and mechanical properties of samples, were investigated by Archimedes’ method, XRD, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), hardness measurement, and bending tests, respectively. The results revealed that by an increase in the volume percentage of the cenosphere (Cen.) space holder, the density of the samples decreased whereas their open and closed porosity content increased. The morphology of the pores formed in the structure was spherical with a uniform distribution. Moreover, the modulus of elasticity of the samples decreased significantly, and the properties were close to those of the bone in the samples containing a cenosphere content of > 30 vol.%.

Graphical Abstract