Effect of grain refinement on Cp-Ti sheets via repetitive corrugation and straightening technique for implant applications

In this work, ultrafine grained commercially pure titanium (Cp-Ti) was developed using repetitive corrugation and straightening (RCS) process. The optical micrographs revealed a 90% grain refinement of processed sample to 5 µm from initial size of 50 µm. The microhardness value revealed a 44.70% increase in hardness from 170 to 246 HV. The ultimate tensile strength was found to be 589 MPa which is 37% more than the as-received sample. The contact angle (45.3°) of processed sample exhibits the hydrophilic behavior of processed sample. This further facilitated the enhanced protein adsorption and cell attachment in the samples which was instantiated by the biocompatibility studies. The in-vitro bioactivity study was conducted on the immersed samples in simulated body fluid and a dense apatite growth with a Ca/P ratio of 1.66 was observed. Hence, RCS processed Cp-Ti is suggested as a potential candidate for load bearing applications.

Graphical abstract