Effect of Al addition and space holder content on microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti2Co alloys foams for bone scaffold application

Ti2Co alloy (with and without Al) foam of varying densities were prepared through space holder technique, in which space holder varied from 40 to 70 vol% and Al-concentration varied from 0 to 6 wt% with an enhancement of 2 wt%. The prepared foam samples were analysed in terms of microstructure, phase analysis and mechanical properties. The sizes of pores in the foams come to be almost similar to that of space holder. An increase in the amount of Al resulted in enhancement of the mechanical properties such as comprehensive strength, plateau stress, energy absorption capacity, hardness and Young's modulus due to increase in solid solution strengthening and variation in morphology of eutectoid phase. Also, these values are found to be predictable with the generalized relation through adjustment of the fraction of materials at cell edges and cell walls. The openness of the investigated foams was calculated to obtain degree of openness. The corrosion rate was calculated for each sample of Ti2Co alloys foams and compared with the reported values. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the prepared foams were also compared with that of the human bone.