Precipitation hardening and microstructure evolution of the Ti-7Nb-10Mo alloy during aging.

A biomedical β titanium alloy (Ti-7Nb-10Mo) was designed and prepared by vacuum arc self-consumable melting. The ingot was forged and rolled to plates, followed by quenching and aging. Age-hardening behavior, microstructure evolution and its influence on mechanical properties of the alloy during aging were investigated, using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, tensile and hardness measurements. The electrochemical behavior of the alloy was investigated in Ringer's solution. The microstructure of solution-treated (ST) alloy consists of the supersaturated solid solution β phase and the ωath formed during athermal process. The ST alloy exhibits Young's modulus of 80 GPa, tensile strength of 774 MPa and elongation of 20%. The precipitation sequences during isothermal aging at different temperatures were determined as β+ωath→β+ωiso (144 h) at Taging=350-400 °C, β+ωath→β+ωiso+α→β+α at Taging=500°C, and β+ωath→β+α at Taging=600-650 °C, where ωiso forms during isothermal process. The mechanical properties of the alloy can be tailored easily through controlling the phase transition during aging. Comparing with the conventional Ti-6Al-4V alloy, the Ti-7Nb-10Mo alloy is more resistant to corrosion in Ringer's solution. Results show that the Ti-7Nb-10Mo alloy is promising for biomedical applications.