Wrought and laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) Ti-6Al-4V (Ti-6-4) specimens were comparatively evaluated, with the objective to determine LPBF Ti-6Al-4V’s suitability for biomedical applications. Testing included nanoindentation, cyclic polarization in simulated body fluid (SBF, 37 °C), and dry and SBF “ball-on-plate” sliding. Wrought Ti-6-4 exhibited a lamellar α+β microstructure, whereas LPBF Ti-6-4 displayed a fine-grained α¢-martensite microstructure. LPBF Ti-6-4 demonstrated ~3% higher indentation modulus and ~32% higher hardness, while wrought Ti-6-4 showed ~8% higher plasticity. Both alloys exhibited low corrosion rates (10-5 mA/cm2 order) and true passivity (10-4 mA/cm2 order). No localized corrosion was observed in either two alloys, except for occasional metastable pitting in the LPBF alloy. However, LPBF Ti-6-4 presented higher corrosion rate and passive current, ascribed to its martensitic structure. During dry sliding, LPBF Ti-6-4 exhibited ~14% lower volume loss compared to wrought Ti-6-4. Sliding in SBF increased volume losses for both alloys, with wear resistances nearly equalized, as the advantage of LPBF Ti-6-4 decreased due to more intense wear-accelerated corrosion induced by the stressed martensite. Overall, the results demonstrate the suitability of LPBF Ti-6-4 for biomedical uses.
A. G. LEKATOU
,
B. V. EFREMENKO
,
V. HAOUI
,
V. G. EFREMENKO
,
S. EMMANOUILIDOU
,
V. I. ZURNADZHY
,
I. PETRYSHYNETS
,
Yu. G. CHABAK
,
I. I. SILI
. Microstructure, electrochemical, wear and corrosive wear performance of laser-based powder bed fusion and wrought biomedical Ti-6Al-4V alloys[J]. Transactions of Nonferrous Metals Society of China, 2025
, 35(8)
: 2612
-2631
.
DOI: 10.1016/S1003-6326(25)66836-1