Numerical and Experimental Crack Analysis of Annealed TC4 ELI Alloy in the Room and Body Fluid Environment

This research work presents a comprehensive analysis of crack behaviour in annealed TC4 ELI alloy, focusing on its response in both room and body fluid environments. The study extensively investigates the crack morphology of compact-tension specimens and analyses crack initiation and growth under specific fatigue load and frequency conditions. The critical crack size is determined based on observed fracture toughness, and the failure mechanisms and microstructural morphology are explored to examine the fractured surface. Notably, the dipped component exposed to the body fluid environment exhibits a 3.6% reduction in fracture toughness and a 35% decrease in life compared to the undipped sample. The experimental life of the undipped specimen is observed as 26.252 million cycles, whereas the dipped specimen demonstrates a marked decrease to 16.99 million cycles, indicating significant degradation in component life. These findings highlight the importance of considering environmental factors when analysing crack behaviour and underline the impact of the body fluid environment on the performance of annealed TC4 ELI alloy. This current finding helps to the practising doctor for the estimation of actual life of the hip implant.