Research Articles (Physics)

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Browsing Research Articles (Physics) by Subject "Additive manufacturing"

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    Influence of large artificial porosity on bending behaviour of TI6AL4V ELI additively manufactured specimens subjected to typical loads during mastication
    (Southern African Institute for Industrial Engineering, 2020) Wessels, Adriaan; Du Plessis, Anton; Yadroitsava, Ina; Els, Johan; Yadroitsev, Igor
    Effective quality control of implants made using additive manufacturing is an important task for suppliers to comply fully with existing regulations and certifications. To study the influence of porosity on the mechanical behaviour of mandibular implants produced by additive manufacturing, preliminary tests with longitudinal flat samples were performed with 3D point bending tests. Ti6Al4V Extra Low Interstitial (ELI) specimens with artificial porosity were designed and subjected to typical loads during mastication. In this work, a finite element simulation was constructed to investigate the bending behaviour of samples, which was consistent with the experimental results. The work shows that even large artificial cavities (designed up to 0.42 mm) do not significantly affect the strength of additively manufactured 2.5 mm-thick Ti6Al4V ELI specimens under typical static loads of mandibular implants, in the considered loading conditions, and for samples subjected to appropriate surface finishing and annealing heat treatment.
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    Manufacturing and characterization of in-situ alloyed Ti6Al4V(ELI)-3 at.% Cu by laser powder bed fusion
    (Elsevier, 2020) Vilardell, A. M.; Yadroitsev, I.; Yadroitsava, I.; Albu, M.; Takata, N.; Kobashi, M.; Krakhmalev, P.; Kouprianoff, D.; Kothleitne, G.; Du Plessis, A.
    Biofunctionalization of Ti6Al4V alloy with metallic agents like Ag or Cu is a promising approach to add anti-bacterial properties and thus to reduce the risk of implant failure. This research investigates the in-situ alloying of Ti6Al4V(ELI) with 3 at.% Cu powders using Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF). The morphology and geometrical characteristics of the single tracks and layers were studied. Laser powers of 170 W and 340 W, and scanning speeds ranging from 0.4 to 1.4 m/s and 0.8–2.8 m/s were implemented. Single track results showed balling effect and humping at high scanning speeds, 1.4 m/s and 1.6 m/s, for each laser powder respectively. Conversely, keyhole formation occurred at lower scanning speeds of 0.4–0.6 m/s for 170 W laser power, and below and 0.8 m/s for 340 W laser power. For both laser powers, single layers resulted in smoother surfaces at lower scanning speeds. These results were used for the development of optimal process parameters for 3D cubes with 99.9 % density. Optimal process parameters were found for 170 W and 340 W laser powders at 0.7−0.9 and 1.0–1.2 m/s scanning speeds, respectively. In-situ alloying by L-PBF was challenging and a homogeneous distribution of Cu within the alloy was hard to achieve. The increase in laser power from 170 to 340 W resulted in small increase in homogenization. Microstructural analyses after stress-relieving treatment showed the presence of α’ and β phases, as well as CuTi₂ intermetallic precipitates. The finer microstructure together with CuTi₂ intermetallic precipitates resulted in an increase in hardness. This study demonstrates the potential for printing in-situ alloyed Ti6Al4V(ELI)- 3 at.% Cu for biomedical applications. However, further studies are required to determine the effectiveness of antibacterial properties.