Effect of process control agent on the porous structure and mechanical properties of a biomedical Ti–Sn–Nb alloy produced by powder metallurgy

The influence of different amounts and types of process control agent (PCA), i.e., stearic acid and ethylene bis-stearamide, on the porous structure and mechanical properties of a biomedical Ti–16Sn–4Nb (wt.%) alloy was investigated. Alloy synthesis was performed on elemental metal powders using high-energy ball milling for 5 h. Results indicated that varying the PCA content during ball milling led to a drastic change in morphology and particle-size distribution of the ball-milled powders. Porous titanium alloy samples sintered from the powders ball milled with the addition of various amounts of PCA also revealed different pore morphology and porosity. The Vickers hardness of the sintered titanium alloy samples exhibited a considerable increase with increasing PCA content. Moreover, the addition of larger amounts of PCA in the powder mixture resulted in a significant increase in the elastic modulus and peak stress for the sintered porous titanium alloy samples under compression. It should also be mentioned that the addition of PCA introduced contamination (mainly carbon and oxygen) into the sintered porous product.