Fatigue behavior of arc melted Ti–13Nb–13Zr alloy

Among the recently developed titanium-based alloys for medical applications, Ti–13Nb–13Zr is distinguished by its biocompatibility, corrosion resistance and low Young’s modulus in the non-aged condition. However, fatigue data referring to this alloy are not available. In order to conduct this study, Ti–13Nb–13Zr was produced by arc melting followed by homogenization in vacuum, rotary swaging and solution heat treatment, resulting in bars with martensitic α′ microstructure. The low cycle fatigue properties of the material were obtained by means of total strain controlled tests. The fatigue behavior of the alloy in the range of 104–106 cycles was assessed through load controlled tests of smooth and notched samples, conducted both in laboratory air and in 0.9% NaCl solution.