Influence of layer thickness on formation quality,microstructure,mechanical properties,and corrosion resistance of WE43 magnesium alloy fabricated by laser powder bed fusion

Laser powder bed fusion(L-PBF)of Mg alloys has provided tremendous opportunities for customized production of aeronautical and medical parts.Layer thickness(LT)is of great significance to the L-PBF process but has not been studied for Mg alloys.In this study,WE43 Mg alloy bulk cubes,porous scaffolds,and thin walls with layer thicknesses of 10,20,30,and 40μm were fabricated.The required laser energy input increased with increasing layer thickness and was different for the bulk cubes and porous scaffolds.Porosity tended to occur at the connection joints in porous scaffolds for LT40 and could be eliminated by reducing the laser energy input.For thin wall parts,a large overhang angle or a small wall thickness resulted in porosity when a large layer thicknesses was used,and the porosity disappeared by reducing the layer thickness or laser energy input.A deeper keyhole penetration was found in all occasions with porosity,explaining the influence of layer thickness,geometrical structure,and laser energy input on the porosity.All the samples achieved a high fusion quality with a relative density of over 99.5%using the optimized laser energy input.The increased layer thickness resulted to more precipitation phases,finer grain sizes and decreased grain texture.With the similar high fusion quality,the tensile strength and elongation of bulk samples were significantly improved from 257 MPa and 1.41%with the 10μm layer to 287 MPa and 15.12%with the 40μm layer,in accordance with the microstructural change.The effect of layer thickness on the compressive properties of porous scaffolds was limited.However,the corrosion rate of bulk samples accelerated with increasing the layer thickness,mainly attributed to the increased number of precipitation phases.

Improving corrosion resistance of additively manufactured WE43 magnesium alloy by high temperature oxidation for biodegradable applications

Laser powder bed fusion(L-PBF)has been employed to additively manufacture WE43 magnesium(Mg)alloy biodegradable implants,but WE43 L-PBF samples exhibit excessively rapid corrosion.In this work,dense WE43 L-PBF samples were built with the relativity density reaching 99.9%.High temperature oxidation was performed on the L-PBF samples in circulating air via various heating temperatures and holding durations.The oxidation and diffusion at the elevated temperature generated a gradient structure composed of an oxide layer at the surface,a transition layer in the middle and the matrix.The oxide layer consisted of rare earth(RE)oxides,and became dense and thick with increasing the holding duration.The matrix was composed ofα-Mg,RE oxides and Mg_(24)RE_(5) precipitates.The precipitates almost disappeared in the transition layer.Enhanced passivation effect was observed in the samples treated by a suitable high temperature oxidation.The original L-PBF samples lost 40%weight after 3-day immersion in Hank’s solution,and broke into fragments after 7-day immersion.The casted and solution treated samples lost roughly half of the weight after 28-day immersion.The high temperature oxidation samples,which were heated at 525℃ for 8 h,kept the structural integrity,and lost only 6.88%weight after 28-day immersion.The substantially improved corrosion resistance was contributed to the gradient structure at the surface.On one hand,the outmost dense layer of RE oxides isolated the corrosive medium;on the other hand,the transition layer considerably inhibited the corrosion owing to the lack of precipitates.Overall,high temperature oxidation provides an efficient,economic and safe approach to inhibit the corrosion of WE43 L-PBF samples,and has promising prospects for future clinical applications.

激光粉末床熔融制备金属骨植入物

激光粉末床熔融(L-PBF)能够精确高效地制备复杂结构,适用于目前主流的医用金属材料,可赋予骨科植入物定制化的宏观微观结构,快速响应个性化的临床治疗需求,最大程度地适应骨缺损部位的生理环境并加快骨修复重建进程。本文从生物材料、结构设计和制造工艺角度出发,全面评述了激光粉末床熔融制备金属骨科植入物的发展现状,重点对钛合金和钽合金等不可降解金属以及镁合金和锌合金等可降解金属的激光粉末床熔融工艺特性及力学性能进行了比较分析,并对该技术在骨科植入物制备领域的未来发展进行了展望。

Biodegradable magnesium alloy WE43 porous scaffolds fabricated by laser powder bed fusion for orthopedic applications:Process optimization,in vitro and in vivo investigation

Laser powder bed fusion(L-PBF)of magnesium(Mg)alloy porous scaffolds is expected to solve the dual challenges from customized structures and biodegradable functions required for repairing bone defects.However,one of the key technical difficulties lies in the poor L-PBF process performance of Mg,contributed by the high susceptibility to oxidation,vaporization,thermal expansion,and powder attachment etc.This work investigated the influence of L-PBF energy input and scanning strategy on the formation quality of porous scaffolds by using WE43 powder,and characterized the microstructure,mechanical properties,biocompatibility,biodegradation and osteogenic effect of the as-built WE43 porous scaffolds.With the customized energy input and scanning strategy,the relative density of struts reached over 99.5%,and the geometrical error between the designed and the fabricated porosity declined to below 10%.Massive secondary phases including intermetallic precipitates and oxides were observed.The compressive strength(4.37-23.49 MPa)and elastic modulus(154.40-873.02 MPa)were comparable to those of cancellous bone.Good biocompatibility was observed by in vitro cell viability and in vivo implantation.The biodegradation of as-built porous scaffolds promoted the osteogenic effect,but the structural integrity devastated after 12 h by the immersion tests in Hank’s solution and after 4 weeks by the implantation in rabbits’femur,indicating an excessively rapid degradation rate.