Excellence group in developing and characterizing titanium alloys for orthopedic and dental applications

Abstract

This proposal is related to the consolidation of a research group that develops titanium alloys for orthopedic and dental applications. Nowadays, prostheses of titanium alloys made in Brazil are produced with imported raw-materials what make them very expensive and limited in terms of availability. These difficulties can be minimized by the technological development of the preparation, processing, and characterizing of the titanium alloys. This research project will be developed in three areas: a) physical metallurgy, b) mechanical properties, and c) corrosion and surface treatments. The physical metallurgy area is related to the preparation of the alloys (nineteen different compositions), the analysis of the solid/solid and liquid/solid phase transformations, and the characterization and analysis of the microstructure for these alloys. The mechanical properties area is involved with the characterization and analysis of the basic mechanical properties (tension and hardness), fatigue and fatigue-corrosion properties, and fracture toughness for all alloys in the cast condition and after some thermo mechanical treatments. The corrosion and surface treatments area is related to the characterization and analysis of the behavior of the alloys, as cast and worked in some conditions, with surface treatments, in presence of the aggressive environment (simulating the human fluids). Finally, some selected alloys will be submitted to the biocompatibility tests. The implementation of this research project is related to the execution of sub-projects in these three principal areas. (AU)