Comparative study of nitrogen implantation effect on mechanical and tribological properties of Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-10Zr-10Nb-5Ta alloys

The effect of nitrogen implantation on mechanical and tribological properties of Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-10Zr-10Nb-5Ta alloys was studied. Increasing implantation dose from 1 x 10(16) N+/cm(2) to 2 x 10(17) N+/cm(2) leads to increase gradually both hardness and Young's modulus. The results show that implantation of 2 x 10(17) N+/cm(2) allowed to double the value of Young's modulus and to triple the value of hardness. Friction tests that have been conducted against 100Cr6 steel and alumina balls showed that tribological behavior of the two alloys depend on the nature of the counterpart material and is strongly affected by the implanted dose of nitrogen.