Extended experiment-simulation based assessment of a porous Ti alloy

Introduction:

With the recent advancements in implant technology, the need for novel biocompatible materials is higher than even. This is especially true for the hip joint, which is frequently injured with many patients disappointed from the surgery results.

Methods:

The aim of this work is to provide an extensive assessment of the properties of a porous 3D printed Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) Ti64 alloy. The assessment was carried out in two parts – experiment and simulation. The experimental part consisted of Tensile Strength mechanical testing of samples with to compute the porosity, density and Young's modulus for two types of samples with varying levels of porosity (0%, 15% and 35%) and with 3 repetitions. Finite element modeling with parameter uncertainty was used to extend mechanical testing of the samples. The paddle sample FE model was solved 128 times based on a Sobol sequence with its parameters treated as random variables.

Results:

The measured values of porosity and density averaged at 27.3 ± 4.9 and 2.72±0.03 [g/m3] for 35% porosity Ti6Al4V and 8.6 ± 0.5 and 3.52 ± 0.16 [g/m3] for 15% porosity Ti6Al4V and 1.9±1.3 and 4.16±0,1 for 0% porosity solid Ti6Al4V alloy. The Young’s modulus in tensile strength varied from 18 018.0 (35%) to 21 149.8 (15%) to 28 826.74 MPa (0%) between the samples.

Conclusions:

This study presents an extensive, two-step assessment of the Ti64 properties. Novel methods are applied both on the experimental side of the study, with tensile strength test and numerical part – with modeling under parameter uncertainty. The results showcase promising material properties of the Alloy for use in implant technology. Future studies will incorporate further experiments and extended modeling under more realistic implant loading conditions.

Acknowledgements:

Bayerische Forschungsallianz BayIntAn_THN_2025_40