Tribological properties of the multilayer thin films deposited on the free-form shaped Ti13Nb13Zr alloy

Surface coating processes are carried out to increase the wear and corrosion resistance of products with free-form surfaces used in the biomedical field. In this study, Ti/TiN/TiC/TiCN/TaN multilayer thin films were deposited on the surface of Ti13Nb13Zr alloy samples with different radii of curvature using the closed-field unbalanced magnetron sputtering technique. The wear and adhesion properties of thin films were examined with a specially developed wear test setup, in a simulated body fluid environment and an ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) counterpart was used. Scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction measurements were used to study the morphology and microstructure of the thin films before and after wear experiments. The delamination amounts of the coatings on the sample surfaces after the wear test were measured and this value was calculated as 8.73%, 12.16%, and 16.89% for the R14, R18, and R22 samples, respectively. As a result of these findings, it was determined that the wear resistance of the coatings decreased as the radius of the curvature increased. The wear amounts of the UHMWPE components are found as 15.45, 6.75, 8.15, 15.45, 6.75, and 8.15 mg for P0, P14, P18, and P22 samples, respectively.