Structural investigation of thermo-mechanically processed Ti-29Nb-9Ta-10Zr alloy using X-ray diffraction

During the last decades many researches were focused on titanium alloys used in biomedical applications, due to their favourable combination of mechanical resistance with physical and chemical properties such as: low density, high mechanical resistance, excellent corrosion and good biocompatibility. In the present paper, a Ti-29Nb-9Ta-10Zr (wt.%) alloy was thermo-mechanical processed and analysed in order to investigate structural changes occurred during processing. The alloy was fabricated by vacuum arc induction melting in a levitation furnace, FIVES CELES type, starting from elemental components and further thermo-mechanical processed. The X-ray diffraction investigation was used in order to characterize obtained structures during thermo-mechanical processing, using a Philip PW 3710 diffractometer, in Bragg-Brentano theta-2 theta geometry, with negligible instrumental broadening. Data concerning alloys component phases, average coherent crystallite size and micro-strain at crystalline lattice level was obtained.