Assessment of precipitation behavior in dental castings of a Co–Cr–Mo alloy

Effect of Multiple Reverse Transformation Treatments on Grain Refinement and Mechanical Properties of Biomedical Co-Cr-Mo-N Alloys Fabricated by Electron Beam Melting

We investigated the improvement of mechanical properties of biograde Co-28Cr-6Mo-0.11N alloy prepared by electron beam melting through grain refinement via multiple reverse transformations. While the effects of single and double reverse transformation treatments on the microstructure have been investigated in previous studies, we investigated the effects of multiple reverse transformation heat treatments. The particle size was refined to 1/4, and the yield strength, tensile silence strength, and elongation were enhanced to 655 MPa, 1234 MPa, and 45%, respectively, satisfying ASTM F75 standards. Moreover, a mixed phase of ε and γ was observed to provide higher yield strength than a single γ structure. The dominant behavior in the γ → ε phase transformation at 1073 K was obvious. Grain growth was suppressed by the grain-boundary pinning effect of the Cr2N phase during reverse transformation to the γ phase. Because no fracture was caused by precipitates such as σ, η, and Cr2N phases, the influence of the precipitates on the tensile properties was small.

Characterization of Co-Cr-W Dental Alloys with Veneering Materials Manufactured via Subtractive Milling and Additive Manufacturing LDED Methods

Laser-directed energy deposition (LDED) is an additive manufacturing (AM) technology which can be an alternative to the traditional subtractive milling process for the obtention of porcelain-fused-to-metal (PFM) prosthesis. Still, the adhesion performance of the veneering ceramics for this material has been not studied yet. The main objective of this study is to perform a systematic comparison of the adhesion performance of Co-Cr-W metal frameworks obtained through LDED and conventional milling techniques. Comparison includes microstructural, superficial, and adhesion analysis. Co-Cr manufactured via LDED technique presents similar behavior (p < 0.05) in comparison to the material obtained via milling techniques, and its performance was validated with the veneering ceramics and veneering composites currently employed in the dental industry.

Assessment of Force Retention between Milled Metallic and Ceramic Telescopic Crowns with Different Taper Angles Used for Oral Rehabilitation

The present study assessed the retention forces corresponding to different telescopic systems used in removable prosthetic dentures. The telescopic systems were represented by Co–Cr alloy or zirconia-based primary crowns and Co–Cr secondary crowns. All crowns were manufactured using computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing technology (CAD/CAM). Two types of reference abutment teeth (upper canine and first upper molar) were selected in order to obtain the telescopic crowns and two taper angles—of 0° and 2°—were used for the design of the crowns. A number of 120 samples of telescopic crowns were obtained and subjected to mechanical tests, following a specific protocol, on a mechanical testing equipment. The retention of the telescopic systems was evaluated for different sets of cycles (up to 360), represented by movements that simulate the intraoral insertion and disinsertion of the telescopic systems. The present study highlights that the telescopic systems in which the primary crown is made of zirconia ceramics presents more advantages than those made of Co–Cr. All telescopic systems studied, highlighted that by modifying the taper angle from 0° to 2°, the retention forces have decreased, irrespective of the materials used for the fabrication of the primary crown, suggesting that by using a taper angle of 0°, which is known to be ideal, more efficient, and reliable prosthesis can be developed. Thus, even though the ceramic–metallic telescopic system exhibited the highest retention, all telescopic crowns evaluated registered values between 2–7 N, indicating that they are suitable for clinical use.

Effect of Four Manufacturing Techniques (Casting, Laser Directed Energy Deposition, Milling and Selective Laser Melting) on Microstructural, Mechanical and Electrochemical Properties of Co-Cr Dental Alloys, Before and After PFM Firing Process

The objective of this study was to compare four manufacturing processes of Co-Cr dental alloys: casting (CAST), computer aided design/computer aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) milling (MILL), selective laser melting (SLM), and laser directed energy deposition (LDED). Comparison included microstructural, mechanical, and electrochemical analyses. Half of the samples obtained were heat treated to simulate the porcelain fused to metal (PFM) firing process, and the metal real state in an oral environment. Co-Cr dental alloys manufactured via casting, LDED, milling, and SLM techniques presented evident differences in their mechanical properties. However, their electrochemical performances were similar, with high resistance to corrosion in artificial saliva, in both aerated and deaerated media (corrosion rate under 4 microns per year). LDED and milling materials showed the highest modulus of toughness, and gave improved results in comparison with CAST and SLM techniques (p < 0.05). The LDED process could be implemented in the manufacturing of the restorative dental industry, with a high overall performance, competing directly with the best quality techniques, and reducing their disadvantages.

Control of Microstructure for Co-Cr-Mo Fibers Fabricated by Unidirectional Solidification

Co-Cr-Mo alloy fibers of 2 mm in diameter were fabricated from the melt at 1, 2, and 5 mm/min growth rates by unidirectional solidification using an alloy-micro-pulling-down (A-µ-PD) method to control the microstructure. All elements, Co, Cr, and Mo, were distributed in stripes elongated along the growth direction due to constitutional undercooling. Both Co-Cr-Mo fibers fabricated at 2 and 5 mm/min growth rates were composed of the γ phase with a face-centered cubic structure (fcc-γ phase) and ε-phase with a hexagonal close-packed structure (hcp-ε phase), and the ratio of the fcc-γ phase in the fiber fabricated at 5 mm/min growth rate was higher than that in the fiber fabricated at 2 mm/min. The results suggest that a faster growth rate increases the ratio of the fcc-γ phase in the Co-Cr-Mo fiber fabricated by unidirectional solidification.

Effect of nitrogen on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Co-33Cr-9W alloys prepared by dental casting

The effect of nitrogen concentration on the mechanical properties of Co-33Cr-9W alloy dental castings fabricated using the "high-Cr and high-N" concept was investigated. Microstructural analysis was performed on the alloys, and findings were discussed in relation to the mechanical properties. Owing to their high nitrogen concentrations (0.25-0.35wt%), all alloys prepared exhibited face-centered cubic (fcc) γ-phase matrices with a-few-millimeter grains consisting of dendritic substructures. Strain-induced martensitic transformations to produce hexagonal close-packed (hcp) ε-phases were not identified under tensile deformation. The precipitation of the intermetallic σ-phase was identified at the interdendritic regions where solidification segregation of Cr and W occurred. The size and chemical composition of this σ-phase did not vary with the bulk nitrogen concentration. Adding nitrogen to the alloys did not alter their tensile yield stress or Vickers hardness values significantly, suggesting that the nitrogen strengthening effect is affected by the manufacturing route as well as local chemistry that is involved in the microstructural evolution during solidification. The tensile ductility, on the other hand, increased with an increase in nitrogen concentration; the alloy with 0.35wt% nitrogen exhibited 21% elongation with a high 0.2% proof stress (589MPa). This significant improvement in ductility was likely caused by the reduction in the amount of σ-phase precipitates at the interdendritic regions following the addition of nitrogen.

Developing high strength and ductility in biomedical Co-Cr cast alloys by simultaneous doping with nitrogen and carbon

There is a strong demand for biomedical Co-Cr-based cast alloys with enhanced mechanical properties for use in dental applications. We present a design strategy for development of Co-Cr-based cast alloys with very high strength, comparable to that of wrought Co-Cr alloys, without loss of ductility. The strategy consists of simultaneous doping of nitrogen and carbon, accompanied by increasing of the Cr content to increase the nitrogen solubility. The strategy was verified by preparing Co-33Cr-9W-0.35N-(0.01-0.31)C (mass%) alloys. We determined the carbon concentration dependence of the microstructures and their mechanical properties. Metal ion release of the alloys in an aqueous solution of 0.6% sodium chloride (NaCl) and 1% lactic acid was also evaluated to ensure their corrosion resistance. As a result of the nitrogen doping, the formation of a brittle σ-phase, a chromium-rich intermetallic compound, was significantly suppressed. Adding carbon to the alloys resulted in finer-grained microstructures and carbide precipitation; accordingly, the strength increased with increasing carbon concentration. The tensile ductility, on the other hand, increased with increasing carbon concentration only up to a point, reaching a maximum at a carbon concentration of ∼0.1mass% and decreasing with further carbon doping. However, the alloy with 0.31mass% of carbon exhibited 14% elongation and also possessed very high strength (725MPa in 0.2% proof stress). The addition of carbon did not significantly degrade the corrosion resistance. The results show that our strategy realizes a novel high-strength Co-Cr-based cast alloy that can be produced for advanced dental applications using a conventional casting procedure.

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

The present study suggested a novel alloy design concept for realizing high-strength Co-Cr-based cast alloys. The proposed strategy is beneficial from the practical point of view because it uses conventional casting approach-a simpler, more cost-effective, industrially friendly manufacturing process than other manufacturing processes such as thermomechanical processing or powder metallurgy. The developed alloys showed the excellent strength-ductility balance and significantly high strength comparable to that of wrought Co-Cr-Mo alloys, while maintaining acceptable ductility and good corrosion resistance. We described the relationship between microstructures and mechanical and corrosion prosperities of the developed alloys; this provides the fundamental aspect of the proposed strategy and will be helpful for further investigations or industrial realization of the proposed strategy.

Characterisation of nanoscale carbide precipitation in as-cast Co–Cr–W-based dental alloys

The results of the present study indicate the importance of local chemistry along with carbide precipitation in the optimization of alloy design for achieving desirable properties such as high strength, ductility, and corrosion resistance in dental Co–Cr-based cast alloys.