| Abstract Scope |
In this study, 0.25, 0.5, and 1 wt% hBN were incorporated into Ti-35Nb-7Zr-5Ta (TNZT) alloy via ball milling followed by spark plasma sintering to enhance its mechanical strength. Microstructural investigations reveal the formation of in-situ α (Ti, N) and TaB2 precipitates within the β-matrix facilitated by hBN addition. The SEM and EBSD analysis show significant grain refinement with increasing hBN fraction: The grain size for TNZT, TNZT-0.25hBN, TNZT-0.5hBN, and TNZT-1hBN is 56.08, 17.62, 12.96, and 11.42 µm, respectively. The TNZT-0.5hBN sample exhibits an optimum combination of hardness (286.4 HV), yield strength (1080 MPa), ultimate strength (1290 MPa), and ductility (38.7%). Specifically, the yield strength of TNZT-0.5hBN is 2.3 times the yield strength of pure TNZT. Furthermore, the elastic modulus from UT testing for optimum composition is 84.6 GPa, which is still lower than that of the commonly used Ti-6Al-4V alloy for implant applications. |