Institute of Fundamental Technological Research

Pure titanium is gaining increasing interest due to its potential use in dental and orthopedic applications. Due to its relatively weak mechanical parameters, a limited number of components manufactured from pure titanium are available on the market. In order to improve the mechanical parameters of pure titanium, manufacturers use alloys containing cytotoxic vanadium and aluminum. This paper presents unique explosive hardening technology that can be used to strengthen pure titanium parameters. The analysis confirms that explosive induced α-ω martensitic transformation and crystallographic anisotropy occurred due to the explosive pressure. The mechanical properties related to residual stresses are very nonuniform. The corrosion properties of the explosive hardened pure titanium test do not change significantly compared to nonhardened titanium. The biocompatibility of all the analyzed samples was confirmed in several tests. The morphology of bone cells does not depend on the titanium surface phase composition and crystallographic orientation.

explosive hardening, pure titanium, bioimplants, titanium alloys

The aim of this work was to investigate whether the explosively welded metals are susceptible to hydrogen degradation. The materials described in this article are widely used nickel alloy Inconel C-276 and super duplex steel SAF 2507 as clad materials for their superior resistance to corrosive environment and low alloy steel P355NH as a base material. It was observed that at the explosive bonded interface between the base steel and the stainless steel some local melting zones are formed. It was found that the cathodic hydrogen charging causes changes in the microstructure of bonded materials and decreases the shear strength of bonds as well as the corrosion resistance of clads.

novel materials, explosive welding, hydrogen degradation