Mechanical properties of additive-manufactured porous titanium bio-structures with oriented macro-scale channels

This article addresses the influence of macro-scale channels with a diameter of 1 mm on the physical and mechanical properties of additive-manufactured porous titanium (Ti) structures, which can be used as bone implants. Different orientations and numbers of channels within the additive-manufactured structures were used in this study. The produced samples were characterized through porosity, shrinkage measurements, as well as mechanical compression tests. The results demonstrate that the channel orientation in the structure influences the shrinkage rate in the parts made with horizontally or vertically orientated channels, in which a relatively isotropic shrinkage is achieved after sintering. In addition, mechanical ultimate strength of the structure can be tailored to the desired properties (such as the surrounding bone) via the channel orientation in the structure, where the overall porosity is affected by the number of channels existing in the structure.