Study on the corrosion and wear characteristics of magnesium alloy AZ91D in simulated body fluids

Bioimplants made of metallic materials induce a stress-shielding effect and delayed osteoblast activity during in-vivo experiments. Bioimplants also suffer corrosion, wear and combined effect of corrosion-wear during their service time. Bioimplants made of magnesium alloys result in a negligible stress shielding effect, owing to their similarity with bone's elastic modulus. However, the soft matrix of the magnesium alloy is susceptible to high-wear rates. In this study, magnesium alloy AZ91D is subjected to the corrosion test (immersion and electrochemical), adhesive wear and simultaneous corrosion-wear test to test the significance of the body fluid in the corrosion-wear rate of the bioimplants. The surface morphology, elemental composition and phase composition of the specimens are characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analytic techniques. The results indicate that the simulated-body fluid has a significant effect on the corrosion rate and corrosion-wear rate of the specimens.