Wear response of heat-treated Ti-13Zr-13Nb alloy in dry condition and simulated body fluid

The effect of heat treatment on the microstructure, hardness and sliding wear behavior of Ti-13Zr-13Nb has been investigated. The wear behavior was studied in dry as well as in wet conditions using Hank's solution and bovine serum as the lubricating media. The microstructure of the heat-treated alloy consisted of acicular and globular α, β and martensite. The hardness was found to depend on the volume fraction and distribution of α phase in the matrix. In dry condition, there was no significant variation of the wear rate with the heat-treatment conditions except for the sample deformed above the β transition temperature and aged after solution treatment at 800 °C. In Hank's solution, the wear rate of all the samples increased considerably. The rate of wear was the highest in bovine serum, possibly due to the presence of protein in the lubricant. The wear process is characterized by ridged wear scars parallel to the sliding direction with superficial plastic deformation along the direction of the sliding and smeared wear surface. The wear mechanism is mainly abrasive.