Preparation and properties of porous Ti-10Mo alloy by selective laser sintering

In this study, porous Ti-10Mo alloy was prepared from a mixture of titanium, molybdenum and epoxy resin powders by selective laser sintering preforming, debinding and sintering at 1200 degrees C under a pure argon atmosphere. The influence of sintering process on the porous, microstructural and mechanical properties of the porous alloy was discussed. The results indicate that the pore characteristic parameters and mechanical properties mainly depend on the holding time at 1200 degrees C, except that the maximum strain keeps at about 45%. The matrix microstructure is dominated by alpha phase with a small quantity of beta phase at room temperature. As the holding time lengthens from 2 to 6 h, the average pore size and the porosity decrease from 180 to 50 mu m and from 70 to 40%, respectively. Meanwhile, the Young's modulus and the compressive yield strength increase in the ranges of 10-20 GPa and 180-260 MPa, respectively. Both the porous structure and the mechanical properties of the porous Ti-10Mo alloy can be adjusted to match with those of natural bone. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.