LASER PROCESSING OF ORTHOPEDIC BIOMATERIALS - Advanced Biomaterials: Fundamentals, Processing, and Applications - page 310

pull-out, third body abrasive wear observed with the harder Si 3 N 4 counterface.
The corresponding SEM images of the wear tracks shown in Figures 9.28 and
9.29 for Ti - 6Al - 4V ELI and TNZT + 2B, respectively, corroborate the friction
behavior.
The wear track morphology of Ti-6Al-4V ELI in Figure 9.28 shows more
extensive plastic deformation, microplowing and cutting, all typical processes
associated with an abrasive wear mechanism. Conversely, the TNZT + 2B wear
track shown in Figure 9.29 exhibits less severity in wear. It is apparent that the

(a)

500 μ m

(b)

20 μ m

Figure 9.28. (a) Lower magnifi cation and (b) higher magnifi cation secondary SEM images
of Ti-6Al-4V ELI wear tracks after friction studies using SS440 counterface balls. [Sonia Samuel
et al. Wear Resistance of Laser Deposited Boride Reinforced Ti - Nb - Zr - Ta Alloy Composites for
Orthopedic Implants (to appear in Mater. Sci. Eng. C, 2007)]