High performance corrosion and wear resistant Ti-6Al-4V alloy by the hybrid treatment method

A hybrid treatment approach involving large pulse electron beam (LPEB) irradiation and plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) is explored for the first time to improve the corrosion and wear resistance of Ti-6Al-4V alloy. The LPEB irradiation decreased the surface roughness, reduced the grain size, and transformed the alpha + beta mixed phase of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy to a single a'-martensite phase. The LPEB treated surface increased the growth rate, promoted uniform discharge characteristics during PEO that has led to a higher breakdown potential and final potential. The PEO coating formed on LPEB irradiated alloy is compact with a lower pore size and pore population density. The hybrid LPEB-PEO treated Ti-6Al-4V alloy offered a similar to 92% improvement in corrosion protection in 0.9% NaCl and similar to 71% improvement in wear resistance, when compared to the untreated one. In this study, these inferences suggest that a hybrid LPEB-PEO treatment is a viable approach to improve the corrosion and wear resistance of Ti-6Al-4V alloy.