• Corrosion Science and Technology
• /
• v.8 no.4
• /
• pp.162-169
• /
• 2009

Pure titanium and its alloys are drastically used in implant materials due to their excellent mechanical properties, high corrosion resistance and good biocompatibility. However, the widely used Ti-6Al-4V is found to release toxic ions (Al and V) into the body, leading to undesirable long-term effects. Ti-6Al-4V has much higher elastic modulus than cortical bone. Therefore, titanium alloys with low elastic modulus have been developed as biomaterials to minimize stress shielding. For this reason, Ti-30Ta-xZr alloy systems have been studied in this study. The Ti-30Ta containing Zr(5, 10 and 15 wt%) were 10 times melted to improve chemical homogeneity by using a vacuum furnace and then homogenized for 24 hrs at $1000^{\circ}C$. The specimens were cut and polished for corrosion test and Ti coating and then coated with TiN, respectively, by using DC magnetron sputtering method. The analyses of coated surface were carried out by field emission scanning electron microscope(FE-SEM). The electrochemical characteristics were examined using potentiodynamic (- 1500 mV~+ 2000 mV) and AC impedance spectroscopy(100 kHz~10 mHz) in 0.9% NaCl solution at $36.5{\pm}1^{\circ}C$. The equiaxed structure was changed to needle-like structure with increasing Zr content. The surface defects and structures were covered with TiN/Ti coated layer. From the polarization behavior in 0.9% NaCl solution, The corrosion current density of Ti-30Ta-xZr alloys decreased as Zr content increased, whereas, the corrosion potential of Ti-30Ta-xZr alloys increased as Zr content increased. The corrosion resistance of TiN/Ti-coated Ti-30Ta-xZr alloys were higher than that of the TiN-coated Ti-30Ta-xZr alloys. From the AC impedance in 0.9% NaCl solution, polarization resistance($R_p$) value of TiN/Ti coated Ti-30Ta-xZr alloys showed higher than that of TiN-coated Ti-30Ta-xZr alloys.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.20 no.1
• /
• pp.37-44
• /
• 1999

Because of bone resorption, wear of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene(UHMWPE) in total knee arthroplasty has been recognized as a major factor in long-term failure of knee implant. The surface damage and the following harmful wear debris of UHMWPE is largely related to contact stress. Most of the previous studies focused on the contact condition only at the articulating surface of UHMWPE. Recently, contact stress at the metal-backing interface has been implicated as one of major factors in UHMWPE wear. Therefore, the purpose of the is study is to investigate the effect of the contact stress for different thickness, conformity friction coefficient, and flexion degree of the UHMWPE component in total knee system, considering the contact conditions at both interfaces. In this study, a two-dimensional non-linear plane strain finite element model was developed. The results showed that the maximum value of von-Mises stress occurred below the articulating surface and the contact stress was lower for the more conforming models. All-polyethylene component showed lower stress distribution than the metal-backed component. With increased friction coefficient on the tibiofemoral contact surface, the maximum shear stress increased about twofold.