Enhanced fatigue performance of porous coated Ti6Al4V biomedical alloy

Biofunctional coatings are necessary to improve integration of titanium implants in the host tissue but they may be detrimental for the implant fatigue properties. This study presents an attempt towards enhancement of the in vitro fatigue strength of plasma electrolytic oxidation coated Ti6Al4V alloy by applying shot peening process prior to coating. The electrolytic oxidation was performed in calcium acetate and calcium glycerophosphate electrolytes that allowed formation of porous oxide coatings with high surface free energy and apatite like ability. A deformed surface layer coupled with induced residual compressive stresses seem to affect oxide growth rate and fatigue behavior of the titanium alloy.