Beschreibung:
<jats:p>Mechanical properties of metastable β-Ti alloys are highly dependent on the final microstructure, which is controlled by the thermomechanical processing. These alloys are used for biomedical applications and require a high mechanical strength as well as a low Young’s modulus to avoid stress shielding. Previous work on the development of cold swaged Ti-10Mo-20Nb alloy showed that the best compromise strength and Young ́s modulus was obtained when the forming is followed by an aging heat treatment at 500 oC. In this work, Ti-10Mo-20Nb alloy was hot swaged and aged at 500 oC for 10 min, 4h and 24h. The microstructure was analyzed by X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Mechanical characterization was based on Vickers microhardness tests and Young’s modulus measurements. Aging at 500 oC for 10 min after hot swaging resulted in a nearly 100% β phase microstructure while aging at 500°C for 4h or 24h led to a bimodal microstructure consisting on α precipitates dispersed in the β matrix. The higher hardness to Young’s modulus ratio was obtained for the sample aged at 500 °C for 4h. This value was higher than those obtained for the Ti-6Al-4V alloy and commercially pure Ti.</jats:p>