Mechanical properties and pore structure deformation behaviour of biomedical porous titanium

Porous titanium has been shown to exhibit desirable properties as biomedical materials. In view of the load-bearing situation, the mechanical properties and pore structure deformation behaviour of porous titanium were studied. Porous titanium with porosities varying from 36%-66% and average pore size of 230 mu m was fabricated by powder sintering. Microstructural features were characterized using scanning electron microscopy. Uniaxial compression tests were used to probe the mechanical response in terms of elastic modulus and compressive strength. The mechanical properties of porous titanium were found to be close to the those of human bone, with stiffness values ranging from 1.86 to 14.7 GPa and compressive strength values of 85.16-461.94 MPa. The relationships between mechanical properties and relative densities were established, and the increase in relative density showed significant effects on mechanical properties and deformations of porous titanium. In a lower relative density, the microscopic deformation mechanism of porous titanium was yielding, bending and buckling of cell walls, while the deformation of yielding and bending of cell walls was observed in the porous titanium with higher relative density.