Tribological Properties of Additively Manufactured Titanium Alloys

Additive manufacturing of titanium alloys has revolutionised the production of lightweight, high-strength components by enabling complex geometries and patient-specific designs. However, the intrinsic surface roughness, microstructural anisotropy and residual stresses that arise during powder bed fusion or directed energy deposition techniques can adversely affect friction, wear and lubrication behaviour. Optimising the tribological response of as-built and post-processed titanium parts demands a detailed understanding of microstructure–property relationships, surface finishing, heat treatments and surface engineering. Recent advances have centred on tailoring the morphology of acicular martensite and retained β phases through controlled cooling, applying mechanical or chemical surface treatments to refine roughness and employing coatings or ion implantation to enhance hardness and oxidation resistance. These strategies seek to reconcile the excellent corrosion resistance and fatigue strength of Ti alloys with the stringent requirements of aerospace bearings, biomedical implants and automotive components, where reliable wear performance under dry, lubricated or high-temperature conditions is paramount.

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Tribological Properties of Additively Manufactured Titanium Alloys publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in tribological properties of additively manufactured titanium alloys across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Tribology: The study of friction, wear and lubrication between moving surfaces.

Additive Manufacturing: Techniques that build components layer by layer from digital models, such as powder bed fusion.

Selective Laser Melting (SLM): A powder bed fusion process in which a laser selectively fuses metal powder to form solid parts.

Coefficient of Friction (COF): A dimensionless value quantifying the resistance to sliding between two surfaces.

Wear Rate: The amount of material lost per unit sliding distance, often expressed in mm³/N·m.

Microstructure: The arrangement of phases and defects within a material at the microscopic scale, governing mechanical and tribological properties.

References

1. Effect of Temperature on Sliding Wear Behavior of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy Processed by Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing Techniques. Journal of Materials Engineering and Performance (2022).
2. Mechanism Correlating Microstructure and Wear Behaviour of Ti-6Al-4V Plate Produced Using Selective Laser Melting. Metals (2023).
3. Wear Behaviour of N Ion Implanted Ti-6Al-4V Alloy Processed by Selective Laser Melting. Metals (2021).
4. Wear characterisation of additively manufactured Ti6Al4V for patient-specific joint implant applications. MATEC Web of Conferences (2024).