Synthesis of Gradient Biomaterials for Implants by Laser Direct Deposition and Sintering

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This grant provides funding to establish a methodology and to understand its fundamental mechanisms for manufacturing functionally and structurally gradient nanocomposites using three dimensional direct laser deposition and sintering. The resulting material will be designed to closely match the characteristics of natural bone. Biocompatible, osteoconductive, advanced compositionally and structurally gradient implant biomaterials will be constructed with nitinol and titanium-based nanocomposites. A multi-layer laser coating process will form functionally gradient nanoscale nanocomposite coatings on metal substrates. Multi-scale, multi-physics modeling will be developed to simulate the laser direct deposition and laser sintering processes. The synthesized gradient biomaterials will be characterized for their mechanical characteristics, physical and biological properties. Influences of different processing parameters on the coating properties will be studied to understand and find a processing window for good interfacial property and cell-materials interaction. If successful, this project will result in a key enabling technology for integrating advances in biomaterials into manufacturing that lead to significantly improved implants for the orthopedic industry. The proposed one-step process has the potential to drastically reduce manufacturing time and cost. This project will bring about an improved understanding of this bio-composite material behavior in the performance of implants. The computer modeling will build a deeper understanding of laser deposition on the interaction between multi-component powders and the laser beam, their behavior in a molten pool and solidification. The experiments and multiphysics modeling will combine to provide a critical scientific basis for low temperature processing of smart materials and nanocomposite powders.