Published: 30 September 2007

Characteristics of porous implant steel 316L for orthopedic applications

M. Gradzka-Dahlke1
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Abstract

The porous materials are recently considered to be the prospective biomaterials for restorative medicine. The Young’s modulus of porous metallic biomaterials is much lower than those of non-porous and comparable to modulus of hard tissues, which can improve the conditions of bone remodeling and heading. The porous structure is also interesting from tribological point of view. The usage of porous material for friction elements of joint endoprostheses changes the wear mechanisms and causes decrease of resistance to motion and material wear loss. The aim of present research was to analyze the structure of porous 316L implant steel and its influence on main functional properties of sinters. Samples with porosity of 26, 33, and 41% were made of the 316 stainless steel by the powder metallurgy method. Microstructure was described using conventional image analysis techniques. The mechanical properties were determined in static compressing tests. Fatigue tests were conducted under the fully reversed strain controlled mode. A good correlation has been found between structural parameters and tribological as well as mechanical properties. The low-cyclic fatigue investigations confirm the steady properties of porous materials in the certain range of strain

About this article

Received
06 June 2007
Accepted
12 September 2007
Published
30 September 2007
Keywords
porous biomaterials
microstructure analysis
mechanical properties
fatigue analysis