Corrosion fatigue of biomedical metallic alloys: Mechanisms and mitigation

Great deal of research is still going on in the field of orthopedic and craniofacial implant development to resolve various issues being faced by the industry today. Despite several disadvantages of the metallic implants, they continue to be used, primarily because of their superior mechanical properties. In order to minimize the harmful effects of the metallic implants and its by-products, several modifications are being made to these materials, for instance nickel-free stainless steel, cobalt-chromium and titanium alloys are being introduced to eliminate the toxic effects of nickel being released from the alloys, introduce metallic implants with lower modulus, reduce the cost of these alloys by replacing rare elements with less expensive elements etc. New alloys like tantalum, niobium, zirconium, and magnesium are receiving attention given their satisfying mechanical and biological properties. Non-oxide ceramics like silicon nitride and silicon carbide are being currently developed as a promising implant material possessing a combination of properties such as good wear and corrosion resistance, increased ductility, good fracture and creep resistance, and relatively high hardness in comparison to alumina. Polymer/magnesium composites are being developed to improve mechanical properties as well as retain polymer's property of degradation. Recent advances in orthobiologics are proving interesting as well. This paper thus deals with the latest improvements being made to the existing implant materials and includes new materials being introduced in the field of biomaterials.

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An overview of recent advances in designing orthopedic and craniofacial implants.

In this paper we demonstrate that the residual stress introduced by several different surface finishes affects the critical current density for passivation and the passive current density in the anodic polarization curve of austenitic stainless steel and that those critical current densities can be reduced by controlling the residual stress by applying a cavitating jet to the backs of specimens. The results show that the current density either increased or decreased depending on the surface finish, and that was decreased by introducing compressive residual stress for all surface finishes.

https://file.scirp.org/pdf/ACES_2015011516111106.pdf

Effect of Residual Stress on the Corrosion Behavior of Austenitic Stainless Steel

Electrochemical behaviour of chrome–manganese austenitic stainless steels (Cr–Mn ASS) and AISI 304 stainless steel (SS) is evaluated in various chloride (Cl−) concentrations (Cl− free to 20,000 ppm) to simulate rural, industrial and marine environment. Potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy has clearly shown that with increase in Cl− concentration, the corrosion rate of both Cr–Mn ASS and AISI 304 SS increases and polarization resistance decreases. Comparatively, Cr–Mn ASS is more affected by Cl− concentration than AISI 304 SS. This is attributed to relatively low Cr content and lack of Ni. The findings have been explained with the help of point defect model. However, in less aggressive environment of up to 100 ppm Cl− concentration, Cr–Mn ASS may be a candidate material as a cheaper substitute of AISI 304 SS. Ways of improving corrosion resistance of Cr–Mn ASS by alloying with various elements have also been discussed. It is argued that a dedicated effort is needed to improve corrosion resistance of Ni-free or low-Ni Cr–Mn ASS.

Zahida Begum

Papers

Studies of the tensile and corrosion fatigue behaviour of austenitic stainless steels