Influence of Firing Time on Micro-Mechanical Properties of Glass Based Coating on Ti6Al4V for Biomedical Applications
In this work, the microstructure and micro-mechanical behaviour for a system composed by a glass coating of the SiO 2-CaO-MgO-Na 2O-K2O-P2O5 system on a titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) have been studied in terms of firing time. The coating was produced using a simple enamelling technique with three different firing times (15, 20 and 30 seconds). The chemical analysis by Electron Dispersive Spectroscopy shows the formation of a titanium rich reaction layer, most probably composed of nanocrystals of Ti 5Si 3. Hertz indentation on the coating surface, Vickers microindentation at the interface and scratch test indentation show that the best mechanical response is obtained with a firing time of 30 seconds, which corresponds to the conditions for which the titanium-rich layer is thicker.