Fracture behavior of Magnesium/Hydroxyapatite bio-composites

Magnesium is a highly bio-compatible material. Having low density and high specific strength, Magnesium and its alloys imitate properties of bones better than other metals, making it a suitable choice for using in orthopedic devices. Bio-based particles are usually added to metals to improve the interactions between the device and the biological medium. In this paper, Magnesium/Hydroxyapatite (HA) nano-composites were selected and prepared. Three-point bending fracture tests were performed on 2.5wt% and 5.0wt% HA bio-composites and the properties were compared with that of pure Magnesium. The results indicate that by increasing the weight percent of the nano-particles, the fracture load will increase. Also the fracture behavior of the composite tends to be more brittle while containing higher amounts of HA particles. Finally, SEM images of the fracture surfaces show that clustering of the particles causes the 5wt% composite to have lower mechanical properties than expected.

Keywords:

Magnesium based nano-composite , Hydroxyapatite , Fracture load , SEM imaging