Deflection fatigue of Ti-6Al-7Nb, Co-Cr, and gold alloy cast clasps

Ahmad Mahmoud, BDS,a Noriyuki Wakabayashi, DDS, PhD,b

Hidekazu Takahashi, DDS, PhD,c and Takashi Ohyama, DDS, PhDd
Division of Oral Health Sciences, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and
Dental University, Tokyo, Japan
Statement of problem. There is little information about the deflection fatigue of clasps in relation to stress
distribution.
Purpose. The aim of this study was to investigate the fatigue resistance and permanent deformation of cast
clasps made of titanium and other dental alloys and to relate the fatigue resistance with the calculated stress
values.
Material and methods. Twenty-five Ti-6Al-7Nb, 25 Co-Cr, and 15 Type IV gold alloy clasps were subjected
to cyclic deflection of preset values of 0.25 mm, 0.50 mm, or 0.75 mm, for 106 cycles (n = 14). Finite element
models were created to calculate principal stresses within the specimens. Fatigue life, retentive force, and
permanent deformation were recorded, and the fracture locations were determined microscopically. The results
were characterized in relation to the stress within the clasps. One-way analysis of variance and Tamhane’s post-
hoc tests were used to compare the results of the 9 material-deflection groups (a=.05).
Results. Ti-6Al-7Nb clasps exhibited significantly less permanent deformation than the other clasps under
relatively greater deflections, indicating better adaptation to the tooth surface. However, the fatigue life of the
Ti-6Al-7Nb clasps under 0.75-mm deflection, with the stress above the alloy’s 0.2% yield strength, was
significantly shorter than those under smaller deflections. The gold clasps showed significantly longer fatigue life
than the other clasps under the 0.50-mm deflection. High-stress areas within the fatigue clasp specimens
coincided with the fracture locations. The probabilities of fatigue fracture and permanent deformation were
closely related to the material strengths and the preset deflections.
Conclusion. To minimize fatigue failures, the cast clasp should be designed with consideration of the stresses
distributions within the clasps. (J Prosthet Dent 2005;93:183-8.)

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS
The Ti-6Al-7Nb and gold clasps demonstrated fatigue resistance that allows placement in
undercut greater than 0.25 mm, which is suitable for Co-Cr alloy clasps. These clasps may be
indicated when esthetics or periodontal health is a primary concern.

T i-6Al-7Nb alloy has been developed as an alterna-

tive to Co-Cr and other existing removable partial den-
ture alloys because it offers excellent biocompatibility,
This study was supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research,
12771170 (N.W.) and 14571840 (N.W.), from The Ministry of
Education, Science, and Culture of Japan. Presented at the 110th
Scientific Meeting of the Japan Prosthodontic Society, Nagano,
Japan, October 2003.
Presented at the 82nd General Session and Exhibition of the
International Association for Dental Research; an Arthur R.
Frechette Research Award Finalist, Hawaii, March, 2004.
a
Resident, PhD student, Removable Prosthodontics, Department of
Masticatory Function Rehabilitation.
b
Research associate, Removable Prosthodontics, Department of
Masticatory Function Rehabilitation.
c
Associate Professor, Advanced Biomaterials, Department of Re-
storative Sciences, Division of Oral Health Sciences.
d
Professor and Chair, Removable Prosthodontics, Department of
Masticatory Function Rehabilitation.
good resistance to abrasion, and other advantages for
relatively low cost.1-4 Like other titanium alloys, the
Ti-6Al-7Nb alloy has an elastic modulus that is approx-
imately half of Co-Cr alloy, which increases its flexibil-
ity.5 The increased flexibility allows the retentive clasp
arms to be placed into larger undercuts on abutments
than Co-Cr alloy clasps, and this may be important
when esthetics or periodontal health is a primary con-
cern.
Clasps undergo permanent deformation and fatigue
fracture under repeated flexures caused by denture in-
sertion and removal and mastication.6-9 The fatigue
life of cast clasps made of commercially-pure titanium
was reported to be shorter than that of Co-Cr and
gold alloy clasps.5 However, the fatigue fracture and
permanent deformation of cast clasps made of titanium
alloy has not been sufficiently assessed in relation to
stress distribution, and little is known about how these

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THE JOURNAL OF PROSTHETIC DENTISTRY
Fig. 1. A, Schematic illustration of fatigue test specimen.
Specimen consists of clasp arm, loading sphere, and plate for
fixation to testing machine. B, Finite element model of clasp
arm. Dimensions of each model were based on test specimen.
clasps would function in long-term clinical use.
Permanent deformation and fatigue fracture are caused
by the stress created in the clasp.10,11 The stress distribu-
tion may depend on the elastic modulus of the alloy, di-
mensions and curvature of the clasp,12,13 and the
amount and direction of defection in relation to the
abutment undercut.14
The purpose of this in vitro study was to investigate
the fatigue of the Ti-6Al-7Nb clasps compared to
Co-Cr and gold alloy clasps. The fatigue life, retentive
force, and permanent deformation of clasps under cyclic
deflections of different magnitudes were evaluated, and
deflection fatigue was characterized in relation to the
stress distributions within the clasps.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
A metal cylinder with a 10-mm outer diameter was
used for the adaptation of a pre-formed tapered wax pat-
tern (Rapid-Flex; Degussa, Dusseldorf, Germany). The
clasp arm pattern originated from a plate and curved
around the cylindrical surface 120 degrees in a single
plane (Fig. 1, A). Average width and thickness of the
clasp arm at 30 degrees were 0.92 mm and 0.97 mm, re-
spectively, while those at 120 degrees were 0.73 mm and
0.79 mm, respectively. The plate served as an attach-
ment for fixation to a fatigue-testing machine (250N;
Shimadzu Corp, Kyoto, Japan). The original pattern
was duplicated using a split mold to make acrylic resin
patterns (Pattern resin, GC, Tokyo, Japan). A spherical
bead 0.5 mm in diameter was glued onto the inner
surface of each clasp tip to provide a point of force appli-
cation. The patterns were invested and cast using Ti-
6Al-7Nb (T-alloy Tough; GC) with a magnesia-based
investment (Selevest CB; Kobelco, Hyogo, Japan),
Co-Cr (Biosil L; Degussa) and a Type IV gold alloy
184
MAHMOUD ET AL
(Degulor M; Degussa), both with a phosphate-bonded
investment (Biosint-supra; Degussa). The compositions
and material properties of these alloys are shown in
Table I. The Ti-6Al-7Nb was cast using argon arc melt-
ing technology with a centrifugal vacuum pressure cast-
ing machine (Valcan-T; Shofu, Kyoto, Japan). The Co-Cr
alloy was cast using high-frequency induction melting
technology with a centrifugal casting machine (SA-2000;
Sankin, Tokyo, Japan). The gold alloy was cast using
electric resistance melting technology with a centrifugal
casting machine (TS3; Degussa). The casting proce-
dures were determined following the manufacturers’ in-
structions for the metals and investments. Recovered
castings were lightly cleaned with airborne-particle abra-
sion using 80-mm aluminum oxide particles. Each gold
alloy clasp was heat-treated according to the manufac-
turer’s instructions.
Fatigue test
Twenty five Ti-6Al-7Nb, 25 Co-Cr, and 15 gold al-
loy cast specimens were divided into different experi-
mental groups according to preset clasp tip
deflections, 0.25 mm, 0.50 mm, and 0.75 mm, which
were designed to compare the clasps’ functions under
different undercuts to the tooth surfaces. The 3 groups
of the Ti-6Al-7Nb clasps based on deflections were de-
noted by codes T25 (n = 5), T50 (n = 10), and T75
(n = 10). The 3 groups of Co-Cr clasps denoted by
C25 (n = 5), C50 (n = 10), and C75 (n = 10), and
G25 (n = 5), G50 (n = 5), and G75 (n = 5) were used
for the gold alloy clasps. Each specimen was fixed to
the testing machine with screws and subjected to a sinus-
oidal cyclic deflection generated by the radial direction
force at the tip of each clasp arm at a frequency of 5 Hz.
The load/deflection curve was monitored, and the test
was terminated when the maximum force was reduced
to less than 15% of the initial load, or when 106 cycles15
were completed. The permanent deformation was
calculated as the difference in piston tip-loading sphere
distance between the position at the beginning of each
cycle and the position at the first cycle. The actual deflec-
tion was thereafter obtained by subtracting the perma-
nent deformation from the preset deflection. One-way
analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tamhane’s T216,17
post-hoc tests were conducted to determine the differ-
ences in the permanent deformations, applied forces,
and number of loading cycles between the 9 material-de-
flection groups were significant or not. After the fatigue
test, an optical microscopic (VH-5000; Keyence Corp,
Osaka, Japan) examination was performed to locate the
fracture site in each clasp specimen.
Finite Element Analysis
By the use of the preprocessor of the finite element
method (FEM) computer software (ANSYS 7.1 FEM;
ANSYS Inc, Canonsburg, Pa), a 3-dimensional finite
VOLUME 93 NUMBER 2
MAHMOUD ET AL
Table I. Composition and mechanical properties of alloys evaluated
Ti-6Al-7Nb
Composition (wt %) 86.5 Ti, 7 Nb, 6 Al,
0.5 others
Modulus of elasticity (GPa) 123
0.2% Proof stress (MPa) 890
Tensile strength (MPa) 950
Percentage elongation (%) 5 6
All data were based on information provided by manufacturer for each respective material except for modulus of elasticity of Type IV gold alloy.18 Note: recorded
yield strength value is affected by offset value and can be substantially different from proportional limit.24
element model for each fatigue test clasp was created
based on the width and thickness of each specimen,
which were measured at 7 representative locations using
a measuring microscope (MM-60; Nikon, Tokyo,
Japan) (Fig.1, B). Each model was meshed by 8-node
hexahedral elements. In the simulation, each clasp tip
was displaced by the average of actual deflections in
the radial direction while the base area at the clasp’s
shoulder was fixed. Elastic moduli of 90 GPa,18 220
GPa, and 123 GPa (Table I) were input into the pro-
gram to simulate the gold, Co-Cr, and Ti-6Al-7Nb al-
loys, respectively. A Poisson ratio of 0.33 was used for
all of the alloys.19 The friction coefficient between the
rod and the clasp surface was assumed to be 0.2.14 The
principal stress distribution within each clasp model
was calculated using the post processor of the FEM
computer software.
RESULTS
Fatigue resistance
Figure 2 displays the fatigue life of each specimen. For
each test group, a representative specimen was chosen,
and its permanent deformation and force required for
deflection are respectively shown in Figures 3 and 4 as
functions of loading cycles. In the early stage, instant
increases in permanent deformations were recorded for
all specimens. Thereafter, all of the clasps with 0.25-
mm deflections, except for 1 Co-Cr clasp, sustained con-
stant forces and permanent deformations and survived
106 cycles without fracture. One Co-Cr clasp with
a 0.25 mm deflection and all of the other clasps with
larger deflections also sustained almost constant forces
and permanent deformations after the early stages.
However, those clasps that fractured before the 106
cycles demonstrated sudden force decreases accompa-
nied by dramatic deformation increases shortly before
fracture. The average numbers of loading cycles for fail-
ure, the average loads for deflection, and the average
permanent deformations are listed in Table II.
One-way ANOVA showed that the differences in load
required for deflection, the permanent deformation, and
the number of cycles to failure among the 9 material-de-
flection test groups were significant (P,.05). The results
FEBRUARY 2005
THE JOURNAL OF PROSTHETIC DENTISTRY
Co-Cr Type IV gold
62.5 Co, 30.5 Cr, 5 Mo, 1 Si, 70 Au, 4.4 Pt, 13.5 Ag, 8.8 Cu,
0.4 Mn, 0.3 C, 0.3 N 2 Pd, 0.1 Ir, 1.2 others
220 90
710 620
900 740
17
Fig. 2. Fatigue life distributions of specimens as function of
number of cycle. Each vertical line segment represents clasp
specimen. Bar with asterisk was considered outlier and not
included in statistical analysis. Left superscript letters of each
test group represents homogeneous subsets resulting from
post-hoc comparison. Each subset represents groups with
insignificant differences. (P>.05).
of the post-hoc comparison between the 9 material-
deflection experimental groups are shown in Figure 2
and Table II. It should be noted that one C50 clasp
with the exceptionally greater number of cycles to failure
was considered an outlier and was excluded from the sta-
tistical analysis (Fig. 2). Postoperative microscopic ob-
servations indicated that the fracture sites of all of the
failed clasps were located between 48 and 91 degrees
from the clasp arm shoulder, with a mean value of 71
6 11 degrees (Fig. 5). There were no significant differ-
ences in the fracture sites among the 9 test groups.
Finite element analysis
In the finite element models, the sites where the max-
imum principal stresses occurred were located between
39 and 85 degrees from the clasp shoulder, with an
average of 70 6 11 degrees. The average principal stress
distribution for each test group is illustrated in Figure 6.
The stress values detected between 35 and 90 were
relatively constant and above 85% of the maximum
stress. There were no significant differences in the sites
of the maximum stress among the clasp materials or
185
THE JOURNAL OF PROSTHETIC DENTISTRY MAHMOUD ET AL

Table II. Means (standard deviations) of fatigue test and FEM results
Material
Preset deflection
(mm) Ti-6Al-7Nb Gold alloy Co-Cr

Test group code / Number of specimens* 0.25 T 25 / 5 G 25 / 5 C 25 / 5

0.50 T 50 / 9 G 50 / 5 C 50 / 8
0.75 T 75 / 9 G 75 / 4 C 75 / 9
Cycles to failure 0.25 No failure No failure 4 did not fail
0.50 22,469(9,876) 120,500(18,014) 28,929(10,358)
0.75 2,875(1,000) 32,375 (8,845) 15,806 (5,312)
Permanent deformation (mm)** 0.25 9.6 (4.0) a 13.4 (2.4) a, b 14.0 (3.5) a, b
0.50 27.4 (3.9) c 40.0 (8.9) b, c, d 114.4 (12.7) e
0.75 64.7 (11.4) d 132.0 (9.6) e 298.1(21.2) f
Load to deflection (N) 0.25 6.0 (0.8) 6.3 (0.8) 12.0 (0.9)
0.50 13.9 (1.9) 12.3 (1.4) 21.0 (1.6)
0.75 21.9 (1.8) 18.5 (1.9) 25.9 (2.9)
Max. principal stress (MPa)*** 0.25 362 (17) 296 (14) 640 (23)
0.50 706 (47) 559 (27) 1095 (52)***
0.75 1070 (26)*** 773 (23)*** 1254 (56)***
*Exclusion of some specimens due to errors in testing is reason for deviation of number of specimens from originally assigned 5 or 10 specimens.
**Subscript letters (a to f) indicate homogeneous subsets resulting from post-hoc test. Insignificant difference in mean permanent deformation was evidenced
among groups of identical subset (P>.05).
***Recorded maximum stress value exceeding respective material’s 0.2% yield strength.

Fig. 3. Change of permanent deformation for representative Fig. 4. Load required for deflection as function of deflection
specimen from each group. Solid lines: Ti-6Al-7Nb clasps; cycles for representative specimen from each group. Solid
dotted lines: gold alloy clasps; dashed lines: Co-Cr clasps. lines: Ti-6Al-7Nb clasps; dotted lines: gold alloy clasps;
dashed lines: Co-Cr clasps.

among the preset deflections. The average maximum
principal stresses calculated are shown in Table II.
DISCUSSION
Based on the loads required to deflection, both Ti-
6Al-7Nb and Type IV gold alloy would be clinically ad-
vantageous due to low rigidity when compared to the
Co-Cr clasps, which is expected to have a minimum pos-
sibility of traumatic overloading to the abutment tooth
during insertion and removal.12 Fatigue fracture is com-
monly believed to occur at cyclic stress levels much lower
than that needed to cause failure on a single application
of load.19 However, it was previously claimed that the

186 VOLUME 93 NUMBER 2

MAHMOUD ET AL
Fig. 5. Fractured Co-Cr specimen tested under 0.50 mm
preset deflection with enlarged view.
Co-Cr alloy could withstand a stress slightly above its
proportional limit without failure over infinitely many
cycles.20 Results of the present study were not in conflict
with this claim. Four out of 5 Co-Cr clasps tested under
0.25-mm preset deflections, which had maximum ten-
sile stresses (average of 640 MPa) slightly below the al-
loy’s reported 0.2% yield strength (Fig. 6), survived
over 106 cycles. However, all of the other Co-Cr clasps
under larger preset deflections with stresses above the
yield strength failed long before reaching 106 cycles.
All of the Ti-6Al-7Nb and gold alloy clasps with 0.5-
mm deflections and maximum stresses below the mate-
rials’ yield strengths failed before reaching 106 cycles.
Furthermore, the fatigue lives of Ti-6Al-7Nb clasps un-
der 0.75 mm deflection, with the maximum calculated
stress above its yield strength, remarkably decreased.
These results indicate that the fatigue limits of these al-
loys are well below their yield strengths.
At relatively high deflection amounts, the material
differences greatly affected the magnitude of the perma-
nent deformations of the clasps. The Ti-6Al-7Nb clasps
had considerably smaller permanent deformations when
compared to the Co-Cr clasps under all preset deflec-
tions greater than 0.25 mm. They also showed much
smaller permanent deformations than the gold alloy
clasps under the 0.75 mm deflection. This may be be-
cause of the material’s high ratio of yield strength to elas-
tic modulus,21 which indicates a relatively larger working
range (7.24 for the Ti-6Al-7Nb, 3.23 for Co-Cr,
and 6.89 for gold alloy). These results indicate better
adaptation of Ti-6Al-7Nb clasps to tooth surfaces
when designed to engage undercuts greater than
0.25 mm. A relatively higher load was needed to gen-
erate a larger permanent deformation in the clasp (21.9
FEBRUARY 2005
THE JOURNAL OF PROSTHETIC DENTISTRY
Fig. 6. Average principal stress distribution for each test
group. Each volume was divided into 9 different colors
according to stress levels. Red zone indicates greatest stress
region (tension), blue zone indicates smallest. Scales below
show maximum and minimum scale values, as well as
boundary values between levels. Bold numbers indicate
reported 0.2% yield strengths (Table I).
N for T75) than the other materials tested because of
the greater yield strength of the Ti-6Al-7Nb alloy.
This provides the Ti-6Al-7Nb clasps better resistance
to permanent deformation, which is advantageous in
situations of accidental overloading.9,22
Greater permanent deformation of Co-Cr clasps led
to reduction of the actual deflections, and this contrib-
uted to the extension of the fatigue lives because smaller
actual deflections would reduce the maximum tensile
stress within the clasps.12 Permanent deformation was
observed in the clasps that had maximum stresses below
the yield strengths of the alloys (Table II). It is suspected
that these deformation values were partially due to the
surface flattening of the load application sphere at the
clasp tip, which was confirmed in postoperative micro-
scopic observations.
Although the calculated average maximum principal
tensile stresses in clasps of the C50, C75, T75, and
G75 groups exceeded the yield strengths of the respec-
tive alloys (Table II), no specimen in these groups failed
during the first cycle, and all survived at least 1500
cycles. The permanent deformations did not have nota-
ble increases after the first few cycles, and the deforma-
tions remained stable until just before fracture. The
residual stresses and strain hardening induced by the
permanent structure deformations after the deflection
can explain these findings.19,23 The residual stresses
generated in the clasp after the first few cycles should
have comprised compressive stress on the inner surface
187
THE JOURNAL OF PROSTHETIC DENTISTRY
and the tensile stress on the outer surface of the
clasp.19,23 Besides strain hardening, these stresses could
further increase the clasp’s apparent yield strength and
resistance to further permanent deformation.19,23 It
should also be noted that the stresses were calculated
in the models by inputting the actual deflections without
considering these residual stresses. This may result in
higher calculated tensile stresses than those actually
present in the specimens. Post-insertion adjustment or
re-adaptation of a clasp to the tooth surface may cause
permanent deformation in the opposite direction to
that seen in this study and may generate some tensile re-
sidual stress on the inner surface. This may subsequently
increase the susceptibility to further permanent defor-
mation with the reduction of actual deflection, which
could apparently extend the clasp’s fatigue life.5
The fracture locations in all of the failed specimens
were found to be within the range where the stress was
more than 85% of the maximum stress. This implies
that the stress distribution within the clasp was closely
related to the fracture location. However, since an area
of more than 85% of the maximum stress is relatively
wide and stress is almost constant in this area, the site
of the maximum stress could not be used as a good pre-
dictor of the fracture site.
It should be noted that the experimental condition in
this study may differ from that encountered clinically.
For example, fixed direction and magnitude were used
for the experimental loading in this study, although
the real direction may be different and the loading con-
ditions can actually fluctuate.14 Also, the fatigue test in
this study was conducted in dry air atmosphere which
is different from the oral invironment.19 Further studies
are needed to develop a sound base for a computerized
methodology of design optimization that should mini-
mize the failure possibilities of cast clasps.
CONCLUSIONS
The gold alloy clasps exhibited significantly longer fa-
tigue lives, while the Ti-6Al-7Nb clasps showed signifi-
cantly greater resistance to permanent deformation
under cyclic deflections. The results of the fatigue ana-
lyses suggest that the Ti-6Al-7Nb and gold clasps are
suitable for use with undercuts greater than 0.25 mm.
However, a reduction in the fatigue resistance of the
Ti-6Al-7Nb clasp was clear when the tensile stress within
the clasp exceeded its yield strength.
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Reprint request to:
DR NORIYUKI WAKABAYASHI
REMOVABLE PROSTHODONTICS, DIVISION OF ORAL HEALTH SCIENCES
GRADUATE SCHOOL, TOKYO MEDICAL AND DENTAL UNIVERSITY
1-5-45 YUSHIMA, BUNKYO
TOKYO 113-8549
JAPAN
FAX: 181-3-5803-584
E-MAIL: wakabayashi.rpro@tmd.ac.jp
0022-3913/$30.00
Copyright Ó 2005 by The Editorial Council of The Journal of Prosthetic
Dentistry.
doi:10.1016/j.prosdent.2004.11.011
VOLUME 93 NUMBER 2