International Scientific Journals
of Scientific Technical Union of Mechanical Engineering "Industry 4.0"

New types of materials have been developed for years, including titanium-based alloys, which have the potential for various applications. Due to the combination of their very good mechanical properties with outstanding corrosion resistance and excellent biocompatibility, titanium alloys are developing into materials that can be used in aerospace, automotive, energy systems and especially in medicine. A fundamental understanding of the phase transformations that occur at high temperatures in all these cases, especially during cooling from elevated temperatures, is necessary to achieve optimal mechanical properties of titanium alloys. It is known that the mechanical properties of titanium alloys depend on a significant extent upon the microstructure. Therefore, it is very important to understand the nature of the phase transformations that occur under different heat treatment conditions the leads to microstructure development of titanium alloys microstructure. The aim of this article is to review the current state of knowledge and previous research and to point out some of the most interesting phase transformations of titanium alloys.

In recent decades, increasing research in materials science and biomedical engineering has contributed to significant progress in biomedical metallic materials, some of which are titanium materials. The titanium used in the production of biomedical materials is usually alloyed with other elements such as niobium, molybdenum, copper and zirconium. Titanium alloys have become one of the most successful materials for biomedical applications, especially in orthopaedics and dentistry, due to their excellent biological, physical and mechanical properties. This article gives an overview of advanced characterization methods for titanium alloys such as light and electron microscopy, Xray diffraction, energy dispersive spectrometry, differential scanning calorimetry, differential thermal analysis, thermogravimetry and dynamic mechanical analysis. The article provides of the current status of the development of biomedical titanium alloys and use of advanced characterization methods, in the development of Ti-Cu alloys.

Commonly used metallic biomaterials are titanium and its alloys, cobalt-based alloys and 316L stainless steel. Titanium alloys are reference materials in biomedical applications due to their desirable properties such as excellent mechanical properties and good biocompatibility. Since presence of different metals can significantly alter the properties of titanium it is usually alloyed with other metals, including the zirconium. In this work Ti-20Zr was prepared by powder metallurgy by mixing the powders in a ball mill and sintering in a tube furnace under argon atmosphere. Microscopic analysis with the light microscope showed that the porosity decreased with increasing temperature and sintering time. Scanning electron microanalysis with energy-dispersive spectrometry showed the two-phase microstructure of the sintered alloy. Microhardness was determined by Vickers method. A longer sintering time and a higher sintering temperature resulted in higher microhardness values.

Titanium as a raw material for production is very expensive due to its high price and the complex production process. One of the successful alternatives for the production of titanium alloys and final products is powder metallurgy technology. In this work, a Ti-20Zr alloy for biomedical applications was produced using the powder metallurgy process. The density values determined for the compacts depend on the compression pressure. Namely, the compressibility of the powder mixture increases with increasing compaction pressure. A higher sintering temperature as well as a longer sintering time are more favourable to obtain higher values for the sintered density. Similarly, the compression coefficient is lower for samples compacted at higher pressure, while its value increases with increasing sintering temperature. The volume change in the volume of the sample is more pronounced after sintering at higher temperature and shorter time.

Biomaterials are becoming an increasingly important research topic over time as they are used to replace parts and functions of the human body, helping to improve the quality of human life. Titanium alloys are particularly important for the development of new biomaterials. Commercial pure titanium and its alloys are used as essential structural biomaterials in the manufacture of implants due to their excellent biocompatibility, good corrosion resistance and mechanical strength. However, studies have shown that aluminum and vanadium ions are released in alloys such as Ti-6Al-4V, which can cause health problems over time. Because of the problems that occur, researchers are working to improve the properties of titanium alloys by adding new elements. In most cases, different metals are added to titanium and it is known that with the presence of different metals, the properties of titanium also change. All biomedical titanium alloys must undergo various testing procedures before they can be used. The article describes the characterisation methods used in the development of titanium alloys, such as: light and scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectrometry, X-ray diffraction analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, differential thermal analysis. The reliability of the results depends on the methods used and the avoidance of errors in the characterisation of biomedical alloys in order to reach better conclusions and produce alloys of the highest quality desirable for use in the human body.

In this paper, a thin infinite plate of CoCrMo alloy with a straight crack was loaded perpendicularly to the crack plane. CoCrMo alloys are due to their suitable mechanical and corrosion properties widely used for dental applications. The importance of good mechanical properties is reflected in ensuring the functional and technical durability of dental appliances. The intention of this paper is to use a mathematical approach in analyzing a thin infinite plate with a straight crack to the rather complex occurrences within the cohesive zones around the crack tips. The dependence of plastic zone magnitude around the crack tip on an external load of dental CoCrMo alloy plate was considered in this paper. Static tensile tests were carried out to determine the mechanical properties of dental CoCrMo alloy. At plastic deformation, the dental CoCrMo alloy is nonlinearly hardened in accordance with the Ramberg-Osgood equation which parameters were determined using a least-squares method from experimental data. The application of the Dugdale model the plastic zone magnitude around the crack tip was determined. The stress intensity coefficient from the cohesive stresses was calculated using Green functions. The analytical methods, assuming a small plastic zone around a crack tip, were used in the analysis. The results were obtained by means of a commercial software package and presented in the form of diagrams.