Complex Concentrated Alloys for Bio-implants: Additive Manufacturing and Properties – CoCoA-Bio

As the population in modern societies ages and the risks of bone diseases or bone accidents has increased, the need for a new generation of materials with superior biocompatibility and adequate mechanical properties is a challenge. CoCoA-bio combines two innovative metallurgical concepts to provide a material solution for the intended application, positioning itself on an essential public health issue. To this end, multicomponent and complex concentrated alloys (HEA/CCAs) based on TiNbZr-X (X = Mo, Ta) system will be fabricated via additive manufacturing (AM), namely by Selective Laser Melting (SLM). After each stage of development by SLM and microstructure optimization by Hot Isostatic Pressing (WP1), a full microstructure characterization (WP2) and mechanical behavior analyses of the resulting samples, under different loading conditions, including fatigue (WP3) will be carried out. A mechanical surface functionalization step carried by machining with metrological monitoring (WP4) will be conducted before a chemical functionalization for the suitability of materials developed for the intended application (WP5). Two additional WPs, WP0 (coordination) and WP6 (regulation and socio-economic aspect) further complete the structure of the proposal which will run for 48 months.
In addition to the raw pre-alloyed powders, which will mainly be developed for us as part of an external service, the heart of the project is made up of WP1, WP4 and WP5 having as pillars WP2, WP3 and WP6, which allow screening of the envisaged solution. Indeed, the architecture of the project was designed to identify several alloys candidates for the desired application, then to converge on the most promising solution(s), using tools adapted to each task. At the end, dental implant prototypes, as a model implant, will be proposed to validate our experimental approach.
The consortium is confident that the CoCoA-Bio project will participate in requalifying the HEAs from promising materials to truly candidates to replace the material solutions currently applied (for lack of anything better), in our case alloys for bio-implants. The cross expertise and resources of the consortium on additive manufacturing, the design and characterization of HEAs and their surface functionalization are important assets for achieving the objectives of the CoCoA-Bio proposal.