Effect of heat treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of biocompatible Ti–Ta–Nb–Zr alloys prepared by selective laser melting

In this paper, a low elastic modulus, non-cytotoxic Ti-10Ta-2Nb-2Zr titanium alloy was prepared by selective laser melting additive manufacturing. The effect of annealing and solution heat treatment on the structure, mechanical properties, and tribological behavior were investigated. The results show that the microstructure was composed of the main α′ phase and a small amount of β phase. Heat treatment improved strength and elongation. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elongation of the deposited specimen were 807 ± 8.74 MPa and 6.6 ± 0.75 %, respectively. After annealing, the UTS was nearly the same, but the elongation increased to 15.3 ± 0.95 %. After solution and aging, the UTS and elongation increased to 873 ∼ 813 MPa and 9.25–11.9 %, respectively. The elastic modulus of the deposited specimen was 120 ± 6.81 GPa. The elastic moduli of heat treated specimens ranged from 74 ± 4.04 to 96 ± 5.13 GPa. The elastic moduli of heat treated specimens were close to that of β-type titanium alloys. The wear mechanism was mainly abrasive wear and oxidative wear. Compared with the deposited and annealed specimens, the solution and age treated specimens had low friction coefficients and much better wear resistance. In terms of properties and cost, the designed alloy has great potential in the medical implant field.