Influence of Zr content on microstructure and mechanical properties of implant Ti-35Nb-4Sn-6Mo-xZr alloys

The influence of Zr content on the microstructure and mechanical properties of implant Ti-35Nb-4Sn-6Mo-xZr (x=0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15; mass fraction) alloys was investigated. It is shown that Ti-35Nb-4Sn-6Mo-xZr alloys appear to have equiaxed single β microstructure after solution treatment at 1023 K. It is found that the grains are refined first and then coarsened with the increase of Zr content. It is also found that Zr element added to titanium alloys has both the solution strengthening and fine-grain strengthening effect, and affects the lattice parameters. With increasing the Zr content of the alloys, the strength increases, the elongation decreases, whereas the elastic modulus firstly increases and then decreases. The mechanical properties of Ti-35Nb-4Sn-6Mo-9Zr alloy are as follows: σb=785 MPa, δ=11%, E=68 GPa, which is more suitable for acting as human implant materials compared to the traditional implant Ti-6Al-4V alloy.