The aim of this study is to determine the effect of Titania on mechanical properties and wear behavior of Alumina-10 wt.% TCP ceramics and to evaluate the performance of Titania in improving their resistance to these effects. Al2O3–10 wt.% β-TCP mingled with TiO2 to obtain a mixture which is considered as a bioactive coating that may be used in orthopedic implants. Representative bioceramic samples of such blends were prepared with different percentages of Titania and then tested using different methods and techniques. Mechanical properties, fracture toughness were evaluated using the modified Brazilian, semi-circular bending specimens. A pin-on-disk tribometer was retained to study the wear behavior. Based on the obtained results, it was found that the best mechanical properties and wear resistance was displayed for Alumina-10 wt.% TCP-5 wt.% Titania composite. This composite presents a good combination of flexural strength (σf ≈ 98 MPa), compressive strength (σc ≈ 352 MPa), fracture toughness (KIC ≈ 13 MPa m1/2) and micro-hardness (Hv ≈ 8.4 GPa). In terms of tribological properties, the lowest wear volume and wear resistance was recorded for Al2O3–10 wt.% TCP − 5 wt.% TiO2 composition.
Part of the book: Titanium Dioxide
Cracks in engineering materials and structures can undergo different modes of deformation. This chapter presents a numerical and experimental approaches aimed to assess the fracture toughness and the Fracture behavior under tensile and shear loading of bioceramics based on commercial Alumina (Al2O3), synthesized Tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP). Conditioning was conducted at different percentages of TCP. After a sintering process at 1600°C for 1 hour, The Crack Straight Through Brazilian Disc were performed by image correlation during a mechanical test and numerical tests were carried out in order to find the angle where the pure mode II. A CDM based constitutive model was selected and implemented into a finite element code to study the damage of our bioceramics. The result of this combination was compared with the direction of crack propagation obtained experimentally. The directions of crack propagation found numerically were found in good agreement with those experimentally obtained by a mechanical test. Alumina-10 wt.% Tricalcium phosphate composites displayed the highest values of the fracture toughness. This value reached 8.76 MPa m1/2 MPa. The same optimal composition for the mode I and mode II stress intensity factor with maximum values of 7.6 MPa m1/2 and 8.45 MPa m1/2 respectively.
Part of the book: Advances in Fatigue and Fracture Testing and Modelling