Effect of high current pulsed electron beam irradiation on wear and corrosion resistance of Ti6Al4V

The structure and properties of Ti6Al4V alloy irradiated by high current pulsed electron beam (HCPEB) with various pulse number were studied in this paper. Optical Microscopy (OM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) were used to analyze the structure of irradiated layer. It is found that the phase composition transforms from α + β binary phases to single α′-Ti after HCPEB treatment and the grain size reduces to ~ 100 nm. The corrosion resistance of irradiated layers greatly improves in comparison with that of initial state. The hardness and modulus of the irradiated layer were lower than that of initial state, while wear rate of the irradiated layer does not reduce under dry sliding test.

► We processed Ti6Al4V alloy by high current pulse electron beam (HCPEB) of ~ 9 J/cm2.
► The microstructure is changed from two phases to single with grain size of 100 nm.
► Wear resistance of Ti6Al4V is reduced with lowered hardness and modulus slightly.
► The corrosion resistance in physiological saline is obviously improved.