Breaking the limit of Young's modulus in low-cost Ti-Nb-Zr alloy for biomedical implant applications

Biomedical implant material simultaneously requires high yield strength and low Youngs modulus. The lower boundary for the YM of Ti-13Nb-13Zr alloys is regarded to be approximately 65 GPa, which limits further improvement in their mechanical compatibility. This study proposes a novel process of cold caliber rolling to break this limit and decrease YM to 47 GPa, which is the bare minimum value since the development of this alloying system. As a result, the developed alloy exhibits a mechanical compatibility similar to those of most advanced beta-Ti alloys but with a significantly lower amount of high-cost alloying elements. This study attributed the mechanical improvement to three mechanisms based on microstructural characterizations. Manufacturing advantages of the suggested method were discussed as well. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.