Abstract This paper aims to achieve Ti-6Al-4V nitrided coatings using high-pressure plasma spraying coupled with reactive plasma spraying in a reactive nitrogen atmosphere, namely High Pressure Reactive Plasma Spraying. The influence of chamber pressure and the influence of chamber atmosphere with some experiments using air atmosphere are studied. The spraying was carried out with four pressure variations up to 250 kPa in a nitrogen atmosphere in order to determine the influence of the spraying pressure and the spraying atmosphere. The microstructure and the phase composition of the Ti-6Al-4V layers are examined with the aid of X-ray analysis, microprobe measurement, SEM, and TEM. The investigations show that the pressure-supported nitrogen application during spraying led to the formation of fine and coarse TiN in the Ti matrix. Paper includes a German-language abstract.

Abstract This paper compares two types of hydroxyapatite (HA) composite coatings, HA/Ti-6Al-4V and HA/Y-ZrO2. The powders used in the study were prepared using a slurry process then deposited by plasma spraying. The resulting coatings were characterized based on their microstructure, mechanical properties, and biocompatibility. Both composite coatings performed better than pure HA coatings in tensile adhesion and indentation tests. Testing also revealed that the HA/Y-ZrO2 coatings had favorable strength and fracture toughness and that the HA/Ti-6Al-4V coatings had good affinity to living tissue and sufficient mechanical strength.

Abstract The growing need for new materials and material combinations with superior properties for severe service applications has led to the development of near net-shape forming techniques for certain materials, such as superalloys, refractory metals (Ta, W, and Mo) and highly reactive metals (Ti and its alloys). Vacuum plasma spray (VPS) was used to produce dense Ti-6Al-4V deposits for mechanical properties evaluation. Spherical Ti-6Al-4V powder, produced by Plasma Atomization (PA), a novel patented powder fabrication technique, was used as the starting powder. Plasma atomized Ti-6Al-4V powder characteristics include: high purity, tight particle size range, highly spherical with no attached satellites, and excellent flowability. The resulting as-sprayed Ti-6Al-4V deposits were dense and low in oxygen content. Thermal treatment was conducted after spraying in order to improve the structure and the properties of the spray formed material. The mechanical properties of the material, including tensile strength, elongation and hardness, in both the as-sprayed and the heat treated conditions were compared. The mechanical properties of these preliminary VPS Ti-6Al-4V specimens indicate that the combination of high purity starting powder and controlled environment deposition can be used to produce dense spray formed Ti-6Al-4V structures with properties comparable to those of cast or sintered powder metallurgy parts.

Abstract Bond coats based on bioinert ceramic materials such as titania and zirconia were developed to increase the adhesion strength of the coating system hydroxyapatite/bond coat to Ti6A14V alloy surfaces used for hip endoprostheses and dental root implants. The bond coats improved the adhesion strength, measured by a modified ASTM D3167-76 peel test, by 50 to 100% and also the resorption resistance as determined by in vitro leaching in simulated body fluid (Hank's Balanced Salt Solution, HBSS) for up to 28 days.

Abstract A new plasma atomization process was developed for the production of spherical metal powders. This process, unique in its ability to produce large quantities of fine powders (< 75 µm), is especially interesting for value added products such as refractory or reactive metals/alloys powders. The excellent feeding characteristics of spherical powders make them ideal for applications such as injection molding and vacuum plasma spray (VPS) deposition. Powders are known to have a significant influence on the final characteristics of VPS deposited coatings. A variety of factors will control the coating quality, including: powder chemistry, morphology, microstructure, and feeding behaviour. This article includes a review of titanium coatings, and new results obtained using plasma atomized spherical powders.

Abstract One cause of aseptic loosening of total hip replacement (THR) results from the hard polymetylmethacrylate (PMMA) bone cement debris embedded within some of acetabular cups [1]. To prevent this failure, PMMA can be replaced by a titanium coating with a specific roughness to promote the bone bonding. In this work, inert and atmospheric plasma spraying was used to coat Ti.6A1.4V implants with titanium.] In order to evaluate the effect of the deposition process on the coating corrosion resistance, different electrochemical techniques were implemented in physiological (i. e., Ringer) and in acidic solutions. Results show that the spraying parameters and the coating morphology affect the corrosion behaviour. Thus, if the reactivity is not affected by the pH evolution, the pitting sensitivity depends on the process. It was found that coatings deposited under inert gas are free of oxides and dense, even when the atmosphere contains some hydrogen. In that case a significant improvement of the intrinsic localized corrosion resistance is observed versus deposits obtained using atmospheric plasma spraying.