Wear properties of Ti–13Zr–13Nb (wt.%) near β titanium alloy containing 0.5 wt.% boron in dry condition, Hank's solution and bovine serum

The effect of heat treatment on the microstructure, hardness and sliding wear behaviour of Ti–13Zr–13Nb (wt.%) containing 0.5 wt.% B (TZNB) has been studied and compared with that of Ti–13Zr–13Nb (wt.%) (TZN) alloy. The wear properties were tested in dry condition and in simulated body fluid (Hank's solution and bovine serum) to understand the effect of different medium on wear behaviour of the TZNB alloy. Depending on the heat treatment condition the microstructure of the alloy consisted of α/martensite and TiB in β matrix. In general, the hardness of all the heat treated samples varied in a narrow range and in most of the cases addition of boron to the TZN alloy decreased the hardness. Almost all cases, no significant variation of the wear rate in dry condition with heat treatment was observed. Compared with the wear rate in dry condition, the wear rate in Hank's solution of the all the TZNB samples increased substantially. Moreover, the wear was found to be most severe in bovine serum. Addition of boron to TZN alloy did not result in any improvement in the wear resistance in all the media studied.