Effect of ultrasonic vibration-assisted laser surface melting and texturing of Ti-6Al-4V ELI alloy on surface properties

Abstract Ultrasonic vibration-assisted laser surface processing that involves application of vertical ultrasonic vibrations to the Ti-6Al-4 V alloy substrates while being irradiated with a CO 2 laser was performed for the development of laser melted and textured surfaces with potential applications in biomedical implants. The laser processing resulted in very consistent repeating undulating grooved surfaces, and the undulations were significantly more pronounced in the samples processed with higher ultrasonic power outputs. The phase evolution, studied by X-ray diffraction, confirmed that the laser processing triggered transformation of globular α → acicular α and martensitic α' as well as increased amounts of retained β phases, which were also reflected in the microscopic analysis. The surface texture developed by laser processing resulted in increased surface wettability with increasing ultrasonic power output. The textured surfaces exhibited marked decrease in coefficients of friction during sliding wear testing performed under simulated body fluid due to lubricant entrainment within the textured grooves. The texturing also resulted in significant reduction in surface contact area during the wear process, which considerably reduced the overall wear rates due to abrasive wear.