Abrasive Flow Finishing of Spark Plasma Sintered Titanium Alloy Bone Plate

Abstract

Bone plates are essential for providing mechanical support during the healing of bone fractures by adapting to the biochemical environment. The uniform fine surface quality of the bone plate surface is crucial for increasing its life-span and functioning. Abrasive Flow Finishing (AFF) is an advanced finishing process that provides fine surface finishing without modifying the polished surface topography. In the present work, Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) fabricated titanium alloy-based bone plates are finely finished using the AFF process. The variables used in the current work for experimentations are the extrusion pressure, abrasive size, and finishing cycles. The outcomes of different process parameter variables on the % improvement in surface roughness (% ΔR_a) of bone plate surface are investigated. The % ΔR_a was found to be 80.92 and 79.90% on the flat and internal surface of the bone plate surface utilizing the AFF process. Further, to analyze the effectiveness of finishing over the fabricated bone plate surface, surface morphology and wear tests are performed. The findings revealed that the overall surface properties of the bone plate are generally improved by the abrasive flow finishing over the SPS fabricated bone plate surface. This may further improve the life span of the bone plate surface and tends to have high engagement stability while functioning.