Effect of Grain Size Reduction thruogh Multi Directional Forging Process on Corrosion and Wear Properties of Commercially Pure Titanium

Commercial pure (CP) titanium has many applications in biomaterials especially in implants due to its excellent biocompatibility. Despite the importance of surface properties in bio-applications, limited research has been conducted to improve surface properties of CP titanium by improving the structure. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to improve the corrosion and wear properties of CP titanium by reducing grain size by multi-directional forging (MDF) process. For this purpose, annealed CP titanium samples were forged by MDF up to six passes at ambient temperature and 220°C. To investigate the corrosion properties of specimens, the tafel polarization test was performed in a simulated body fluid (SBF) solution. The tribological properties were also investigated by pins-on-disk test at sliding speed and applied stress of 0.2 (m/s) and 1MPa, respectively. The results of microstructure analysis of the samples using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with EBSD showed that the ultrafine grain structure was formed in titanium CP, after 6 passes of the MDF. The results of the investigation of the tafel polarization test showed that the corrosion resistance of the samples increased with applying MDF and increasing the pass number, regardless of the processing temperature. Also, the corrosion resistance of MDFed samples at 220°C temperature was higher than the MDFed samples at ambient temperature. Wear resistance of CP titanium was also increased, by decreasing the grain size. The results of the investigation of surface morphology of samples using a field-emission scanning electron microscope showed mainly the abrasive and delamination wear mechanisms.