Fabrication of Ti/polymer biocomposites for load-bearing implant applications

This paper presents a two-step method for the fabrication of Ti/polymer biocomposites. In the first step, a porous titanium substrate was produced by powder compaction and sintering. The porosity and pore structure of the substrate were controlled by varying the sintering process parameters. In the second step, high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or polyurethane (PU) was impregnated into the porous titanium substrate to form Ti/polymer biocomposites with the assistance of a hydraulic pressure. Ti/polymer composites with the polymer volume fraction varying from 21% to 37% have been successfully fabricated. Suitable impregnation parameters such as temperature, pressure and holding time for HDPE and PU were determined.