Investigation of Tribocorrosion Properties of Titanium Implant used in Orthopedics

A titanium implant is a mechanical system that undergoes tribocorrosion at the interface between the implant and the abutment alloy, where material degradation is common. When various titanium implant materials, which are used to fix the bones broken by trauma or to replace a joint or bones, such as osteoporosis, are exposed to a simulated body fluid (SBF), the effects of wear and corrosion phenomena in these titanium implant materials are observed to be determined quantitatively. For the samples extracted from Titanium-Ti6Al4V screws belonging to two different companies (A and B), very important parameters for tribocorrosion such as wear rate, depth of wear and corrosion rate were determined experimentally in the laboratory environment. The results were examined how suitable titanium is to resist material loss in body implants due to both wear and corrosion. In addition, it was determined that the wear rates obtained from the sample belonging to company B were more stable than those of company A, and the corrosion rates (0.0047 mm/year) obtained from the sample of company A were lower than those of company B.