SBIR Phase I: Novel Titanium Tantalum Materials for Improved Biomedical Implants and Medical Devices

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段研究项目将解决生产含高难熔元素(如钽)的钛合金的困难，这是开发新的生物医用钛合金的主要障碍。通过熔化工艺生产这些合金需要熔化多达10次才能产生均匀的钢锭。该项目开发了先进的粉末冶金工艺，以促进含有这些元素的钛合金的生产。该项目重点研究用于骨科植入物、无镍形状记忆和超弹性合金的高度生物相容性钛-钽合金。含有30%钽的钛合金在植入物方面具有特殊的前景，将对形状记忆行为以及20%至60%钽范围内的其他钛-钽合金进行评估。先进的粉末冶金工艺将加速生物医学用钛合金的发展。在商业上，开发的先进粉末冶金工艺为材料科学家和工程师提供了一种经济的方式来开发和采用专门为其应用而设计的钛合金。目前，该行业通常满足于像Ti-6Al-4V这样的合金，这些合金很容易获得，但没有针对特定的应用进行优化。技术障碍是用于开发的少量钛合金的生产成本较高，以及难以用传统方法生产可能令人感兴趣的钛合金。这项技术将促进钛合金的制造，这些钛合金含有高度难熔的金属，如Ta、Ir和铂，这些金属极难通过熔化或传统制造工艺来制备。此外，该技术还可用于生产具有梯度组成的部件。例如，可以生产成分与块体材料不同的表面，从而提供更具生物活性或更易于仿生涂层的表面，而不会牺牲块体金属的性能。开发的独特的实验方法有助于寻找符合特定标准的合金。其影响将是先进的钛基合金在生物医学、航空航天、工业和消费产品中的可用性增加。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I research project will address the difficulty in producing Titanium alloys containing highly refractory elements (e.g. tantalum) which is a major barrier to the development of new biomedical titanium alloys. The production of these alloys by melt processes requires melting up to 10 times to produce homogenous ingots. This project develops advanced powder metallurgical processes to facilitate the production of titanium alloys containing these elements. This program focus on the highly biocompatible titanium-tantalum alloys of interest for orthopedic implants, nickel-free shape memory, and super elastic alloys. A titanium alloy with 30 % tantalum holds particular promise for implants and will be evaluated for shape memory behavior as well as other titanium-tantalum alloys in the range of 20 to 60 % tantalum. Advanced powder metallurgical processes will accelerate the development of titanium alloys for biomedical applications. Commercially, the advanced powder metallurgical processes developed offer material scientists and engineers an economical way to develop and adopt titanium alloys specifically designed for their application. Currently, the industry typically settles for alloys such as Ti-6Al-4V that are readily available but are not optimized for a specific application. The technological hurdles have been the high cost of production of small quantities of a titanium alloy for development and the difficulty of production of potentially interesting titanium alloys by conventional methods. The technology will facilitate the manufacture of titanium alloyed with highly refractory metals such as tantalum, iridium and platinum that are extremely difficult to prepare by melt or conventional manufacturing processes. In addition the technology can be used to produce components with gradient composition. For example, surfaces with a different composition then the bulk material can be produced providing surfaces that are more bioactive or amenable to biomimetic coatings without sacrificing bulk metal properties. The unique experimental methods developed facilitate the search for alloys that meet specific criteria. The impact will be increased availability of advanced Ti-based alloys for a wide variety of biomedical, aerospace, industrial and consumer products.