Improved corrosion behaviour of electron beam melted Ti-6Al–4V alloy in phosphate buffered saline

• DOI: 10.1016/j.corsci.2017.05.003
• Publication Date: 2017-05-10T14:16:00Z
• Authors: Yun Bai; Xin Gai; Shujun Li; Lai-Chang Zhang; Yujing Liu; Yulin Hao; Xing Zhang; Rui Yang; Yongbo Gao
• Keywords: Galvanic cell; Galvanic corrosion; Titanium alloy

Abstract The electrochemical corrosion behaviour of Ti-6Al–4V prepared by electron beam melting was investigated in phosphate buffered saline and compared with those of traditional wrought counterpart. Electrochemical results showed EBM-produced Ti-6Al–4V possesses slightly better corrosion resistance than the wrought Ti-6Al–4V, which is attributed to larger proportions of β phase and ultrafine-grained lamellar α/β phases in the microstructure of EBM-produced Ti-6Al–4V. The β phase enhances the resistance of charge transfer, thereby reducing the rate of metal dissolving reaction; while the α/β phases result in homogenous distribution of alloying elements in different phases thus restraining the galvanic effect between α and β phases.