Tribological Properties of TC4 Alloy with 3D Printed Cortical Bone Biomimetic Structure

doi:10.3901/JME.2025.11.256

Abstract

Abstract: The cortical bone biomimetic structure TC4 alloy is fabricated using the directed energy deposition (DED) technique, and its tribological properties are investigated in a PBS phosphate buffer solution employing a combined tribo-electrochemical corrosion and wear test method. Because the laser scanning distance during the forming process resulted in distinct variations in the microstructure, the biomimetic TC4 alloy exhibited an increased content of α/αx phases with the expansion of the laser scanning distance, consequently leading to a higher average microhardness. In the presence of body fluid, the biomimetic structure samples demonstrated superior open circuit potential and lower friction coefficient, except for 0.3 N. Under the same load, the corrosion current density of the biomimetic structure sample is lower than that of the dense block, and the difference of the corrosion current density between the two kinds of samples is enlarged with the increase of the load, indicating that the biomimetic structure significantly improves the corrosion resistance of TC4. Meanwhile, under all tested loads, the wear rate of the biomimetic structure sample was significantly lower than that of the dense block TC4. Remarkably, at a load of 0.5 N, the average wear rate of the biomimetic structure TC4 alloy reduced by over 91%. This improvement in corrosion resistance and heightened deformation resistance, resulting from increased hardness, contributed to the enhanced tribological performance of the biomimetic structure TC4 alloy. Hence, it is evident that the additive manufacturing processed space structure induces the optimization of the microstructure, subsequently significantly its tribological properties.

Key words: TC4 alloy, additive manufacturing, bionic, tribo-corrosion, tribology

CLC Number:

TG146

WANG Jinhua, WANG Fengtao, DAI Houfu, JI Xiulin. Tribological Properties of TC4 Alloy with 3D Printed Cortical Bone Biomimetic Structure[J]. Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 2025, 61(11): 256-265.

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