INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECTS OF LASER TEXTURING ON THE WETTABILITY OF TI-6AL-4V ALLOY

Laser surface texturing is a technology that enables us to achieve very complex surface geometries. In this study, geometries created on the Ti-6Al-4V surface were in the form of parallel grooves. Those geometries were obtained by changing the laser beam speed and the number of passes (one or two). The effects of laser texturing on the roughness and the contact angle of Ti-6Al-4V surfaces on the first day and after 80 days were investigated. The results of this study indicate that the samples treated with two passes of the laser beam and at a lower speed scan show regularities of roughness profile geometry while other laser-treated samples do not. It is shown that the surfaces laser-textured with either one or two passes of the laser beam show no significant changes in the surface wettability after 80 days. The statistical test proves that there is a significant difference (level a = 0.05) between the contact angles on the untreated sample on the first day and after 80 days of treatment.