Characterization of grade 2 commercially pure Trabecular Titanium structures

Abstract

In this work, two different cellular solid structures, obtained by EBM using grade 2 Titanium powders, were investigated. Relative density was evaluated comparing different methods, the mean diameter of the singular open porosity was calculated by SEM image post-processing; the chemical composition was evaluated using Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDXS); the microstructure and grain dimension were investigated using chemical etching and, the mechanical properties were investigated using UMTS 810 Materials Test System. The mean porosity values resulted to be similar to spongy bone (around 77% for sample A and 89% for sample B). The mean diameter of the single porosity resulted to be 640 μm for A and 1250 μm for B. The Vickers microhardness results were homogeneous among the structure and the chemical etching showed a complex microstructure characterized by irregular shaped grains. Sample A, as expected, is more resistant than sample B, while sample B shows a lower elastic modulus.