info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis
Evaluación electroquímica y tribológica de aleaciones de Ti porosas para uso ortopédico
Electrochemical and tribological evluation of porous ti alloys for orthopedic use
Autor
Guerra Figueroa, Carolina Andrea
Institución
Resumen
The demand for materials used in biomedicine applications has grown in recent years, triggering the interest in study new metallic materials for orthopedic. Porous Ti-based alloys have demonstrated suitability for bone replacement, such as dental implants and hip prostheses, since they have a similar elastic modulus to the bone. However, the presence of pores implies a broader surface in contact with body fluids, which presents a potential risk in terms of corrosion and/or wear, as metal ions, metallic particles into the bloodstream. In this context, the objective of this doctoral thesis was to explore Ti-based alloys with a porous structure and evaluate their degradation in simulated body solutions. Therefore, samples were prepared by powder metallurgy with a variation of porosity percentages, which were characterized mainly by electrochemical and mechanical techniques. The electrochemical results suggested that porous Ti-based alloy were not influenced by porosity percentage since the passivity was maintained even in confined spaces. Thus, an increase in the corrosion rate did not occur. On the other hand, the porosity enhanced the biomechanical compatibility through elastic modulus. At the same time, the tribological properties showed that the presence of porous would avoid the three-body wear mechanism, enhancing the wear and coefficient of friction.