Properties of a porous Ti—6Al—4V implant with a low stiffness for biomedical application

Abstract

Porous Ti—6Al—4V alloy was fabricated using the electron beam melting (EBM) process. The phases of the as-received powder and fabricated samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The XRD peaks of both diffraction patterns agree well, which indicated that the EBM process has not changed the composition of Ti—6Al—4V. The fabricated samples exhibited a Vickers microhardness value of around 428 HV. The compression and three-point bending tests were performed to evaluate the mechanical properties of the porous Ti—6Al—4V implant with a porosity of around 60 per cent. The compressive yield strength, Young's modulus, and ultimate compressive strength were 194.6 MPa, 4.25 GPa, and 222.6 MPa respectively. The bending stiffness and bending strength were 3.7 GPa and 126.3 MPa respectively. These results demonstrated that the porous Ti—6Al—4V implant with a low stiffness and high porosity could be a promising biomaterial for biomedical applications.