Enhancing the tribological characteristics of the biocompatible Ti-6Al-4 V alloy via heat treatment: An experimental analysis

The tribological behaviour of the Ti-6Al-4 V biocompatible alloy fabricated using laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) was experimentally investigated for prosthesis implants. Annealing heat treatment was executed to improve its tribological performance. The microstructure and microhardness characterization were performed using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Vickers microhardness. The wear test was processed using a SS304 spherical ball in simulated body fluid (SBF) at body temperature. The ball on a flat tribometer was used to determine wear rate, depth, width, and friction coefficient at 15 N. The results revealed that a needle-like martensite alpha' structure was noticed on the as-deposited sample. Microstructural characterization significantly affects wear morphologies. The heat-treated specimen showed a more desirable wear performance than the as fabricated.