Fatigue Life of Titanium Alloys Fabricated by Additive Layer

Manufacturing Techniques for Dental Implants

KWAI S. CHAN, MARIE KOIKE, ROBERT L. MASON, and TORU OKABE

Additive layer deposition techniques such as electron beam melting (EBM) and laser beam
melting (LBM) have been utilized to fabricate rectangular plates of Ti-6Al-4V with extra low
interstitial (ELI) contents. The layer-by-layer deposition techniques resulted in plates that have
different surface finishes which can impact significantly on the fatigue life by providing potential
sites for fatigue cracks to initiate. The fatigue life of Ti-6Al-4V ELI alloys fabricated by EBM
and LBM deposition techniques was investigated by three-point testing of rectangular beams of
as-fabricated and electro-discharge machined surfaces under stress-controlled conditions at
10 Hz until complete fracture. Fatigue life tests were also performed on rolled plates of Ti-6Al-
4V ELI, regular Ti-6Al-4V, and CP Ti as controls. Fatigue surfaces were characterized by
scanning electron microscopy to identify the crack initiation site in the various types of specimen
surfaces. The fatigue life data were analyzed statistically using both analysis of variance tech-
niques and the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis method with the Gehan-Breslow test. The results
indicate that the LBM Ti-6Al-4V ELI material exhibits a longer fatigue life than the EBM
counterpart and CP Ti, but a shorter fatigue life compared to rolled Ti-6Al-4V ELI. The
difference in the fatigue life behavior may be largely attributed to the presence of rough surface
features that act as fatigue crack initiation sites in the EBM material.

DOI: 10.1007/s11661-012-1470-4
 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM International 2012

I. INTRODUCTION published in the literature.[3–9] The microstructure and

ADDITIVE layer deposition is a rapid prototyping
manufacturing technique,[1,2] which is often referred to
as additive layer manufacturing (ALM), selective laser
melting (SLM), solid free-form fabrication, and 3D
printing. This fabrication technique processes a part
through a gradual building of solid materials from
powder layers to the required shape using profiles
created using computer-aided design (CAD), X-ray
computer tomography (CT), or magnetic resource
imaging (MRI) scanning.[1,2] Layered deposition can
be achieved by laser beam melting (LBM) or electron
beam melting (EBM). During additive layer manufac-
turing, powder or wire is fed into a melt pool that is
produced by a sharply focused laser or electron beam.
Parts are built layer by layer by rastering the laser or
electron beam and a powder source across the sub-
strate.[3–9] These methods require almost no fixtures or
tooling. As such, a considerable reduction in the
production cost and lead time can be achieved. The
capabilities of these fabrication methods have been
KWAI S. CHAN, Institute Scientist, is with the Mechanical
Engineering Division, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio,
TX 78238. Contact e-mail: kchan@swri.edu MARIE KOIKE,
formerly with the Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas A&M Health
Science Center, Gaston Ave, Dallas, TX 75246, is now Assistant
Professor with Nippon Dental University School of Life Dentistry,
Tokyo, Japan. ROBERT L. MASON, Institute Analyst, is with the
Fuels and Lubricants Research Division, Southwest Research
Institute. TORU OKABE, Retired, formerly with the Baylor College
of Dentistry, Texas A&M Health Science Center.
Manuscript submitted January 20, 2012.
mechanical properties of fabricated materials or proto-
type products including aerospace components,[10]
industrial parts,[11] medical devices,[12] and dental pros-
theses[12–14] have been investigated. For example, in
studies by Murr et al.,[12,13] titanium and titanium alloys
have been considered to make medical and dental
prostheses using these additive layer manufacturing
technologies. Since the use of an inert gas or a vacuum
is a necessity for a quality laser and electron beam
fabrication, layered deposition is ideal for fabri-
cating titanium components which are susceptible to
oxidization in air.
The microstructure and mechanical properties such as
yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and ductility of
additive layer manufactured alloys have been reported
by several investigators.[3–9,12–17] The presence of poros-
ities and/or unmelted regions in laser-formed Ti and
TiAl-alloys due to lack of fusion has been reported by
Kobryn and Semiatin,[4] Murr et al.,[5,6] and Thijs
et al.,[7] and by Brandl et al.[9] for an Al alloy. These
types of pores and unmelted powders in ALM materials,
which primarily form between layers and are aligned
along the interlayer direction, have been attributed to
non-optimized build parameters[7,9] and may be reduced
by altering the build parameters to increase the current
density.[9]
Like laser-formed materials, ALM materials built by
EBM can exhibit porosities, unmelted or unsintered
zones, due to excursion from optimal build parameters
such as variation of beam current and scan speed.[5,6]
Porosities can also be induced by the release of gas
bubbles trapped in atomized starting powders or recycled

METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A

powders. Wide melt ridge with unmelted surface particles
and microporosity caused by entrapped Ar gas bubbles
have been reported for TiAl alloy[6] and Ti-6Al-4V.[5]
Not unlike conventional casting, pores in ALM
materials can be closed by hot-isostatic processing
(HIP) to improve mechanical properties. According to
Kobryn and Semiatin[4] and Brandl et al.,[8] the fatigue
strength of HIP’ed laser-formed Ti-6Al-4V, which is
significantly improved compared to the non-HIP’ed
material, is comparable to that of the wrought material.
For stress-relieved, non-HIP’ed ALM Ti-6Al-4V, the
fatigue strength in the build direction (Z-direction) is
considerably lower than those in the two other orthog-
onal directions (X- and Y-directions) because the pores,
which are caused by the lack of fusion, are situated
between layers and are aligned normal to the loading
direction (Z-direction).[4] Brandl et al.[8] reported that
the fatigue strength of a non-HIP’ed ALM Al-alloy is
comparable to the conventional alloy, despite the
presence of pores in the microstructure. In this instance,
fatigue cracks initiated from the specimen surface or
subsurface pores or the unmelted region.
Additive layer manufacturing technologies are attrac-
tive for the fabrication of medical devices and dental
implants made from Ti alloys such as Ti-6Al-4V[12–14]
because products with intricate external and internal
features[18] can be directly fabricated from CAD files
with customized or personalized requirements. Current
advances in the potential applications of ALM technol-
ogies in fabricating medical devices and dental implants
based on Ti-alloys are summarized by Murr et al.[12,13]
Evaluations of the microstructure and mechanical prop-
erties of ALM materials for dental applications have
also been reported with promising results.
In a recent study, Koike et al.[17] compared the
microstructure, microhardness, tensile properties, grin-
dability, and corrosion behavior for biomedical appli-
cations of a titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V ELI) fabricated
using the LBM and EBM methods. This study showed
that the tensile properties and the grindability of the
LBM and EBM materials are comparable to those of the
cast and wrought materials. In contrast, the LBM and
wrought specimens showed better corrosion resistance
compared to EBM specimens and cast specimens. The
differences in corrosion resistance among the various
materials have been attributed to variations in the
underlying microstructures, processing route, and cool-
ing rate. The fatigue life of Ti-6Al-4V extra low
interstitial (ELI) fabricated by EBM was investigated
by Joshi et al.,[14] for specimens aligned parallel to and
perpendicular to the scanning direction of the e-beam. A
significant observation of the previous studies[5,6,14,17]
was that the surface roughness varies considerably
among the LBM, EBM, cast, and wrought materials.
A recent study[19] on SLM-produced Maraging 300 steel
specimens indicated that the surface integrity may need
improvement by machining, even though the product
dimensions are close to the final dimensions. Fatigue
crack initiation in metals often occurs at roughened
surfaces due the formation of intrusions and extrusions
during cyclic plastic deformation under fatigue
loads.[20,21] Surface roughness also plays a major role
in fatigue crack initiation from machined surfaces.[22]
While the effects of surface roughness on fatigue crack
initiation have been studied for deformed or machined
surfaces,[20–22] the influence of surface roughness on
fatigue crack initiation in ALM materials is not known.
The endurance limit of Ti-6Al-4V was previously shown
to be reduced by about 40 pct due to the presence of a
porous coating deposited by a conventional powder-
metallurgy (PM) processing route.[23] The surface pores
and the interface of the powder particle/substrate were
identified as the sites where fatigue crack nucleated
under axial fatigue loading. While there are similarities
in the surface features, the applicability of this study
with a porous PM coating to ALM materials is not
apparent and requires a more concrete study since
additive layer manufacturing is inherently different from
powder-metallurgy processing. Furthermore, the surface
roughness features associated with ALM techniques
such as LBM and EBM are expected to be different from
those of deformed or machined surfaces. To the authors’
knowledge, the effects of the surface porosity and
roughness on the fatigue life of LBM and EBM
materials have not been studied.
The purpose of this investigation was to compare
fatigue life properties of a titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V
ELI) fabricated using the LBM and EBM methods for
biomedical applications as implant materials. The pre-
dominant loading mode in dental implant prosthetics is
compression. Off-axis compression, which results in
bending and torsion, is quite common in dental
implants. The loading mode in removable partial
denture frameworks is also predominantly bending. As
a result, the fatigue failure mode in dental implants and
removable partial denture frameworks is bending
fatigue resulting from lateral loading.[24,25] Since the
dental implant prostheses and removable partial denture
frameworks are envisioned as potential applications, the
fatigue life response of the LBM and EBM materials is
investigated by fatigue under three-point bending in
order to simulate bending of a dental implant subjected
to repeated lateral loading or a removable partial
denture subjected to repeated bending during daily
insertions into and removals from the mouth. The
results of this study will be utilized to evaluate whether
or not the surface finish of LBM and EBM materials
needs to be improved by a final machining step and/or
mechanical polishing.
II. MATERIALS AND METHODS
Rectangular plates of Ti-6Al-4V-ELI were fabricated
by layer-by-layer depositions using the LBM and EBM
methods. Figure 1(a) illustrates the layer deposition
direction and the build direction for fabricating the
plates. Detailed descriptions of the two processing
techniques were reported earlier by Koike et al.[17] The
EBM plates (n = 2, where n is the number of items or
specimens) were built up by laying down individual
layers having a thickness of approximately 100 lm at
973 K (700 C) in vacuum. In contrast, the LBM plates
(n = 2) were fabricated by laying down individual
METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A
layers of 40 lm at 973 K (700 C) in an argon atmo-
sphere. The dimensions of the alloy plates were
60 9 60 9 4 mm3. Each equipment manufacturer spec-
ifies the type of alloy powder (including the powder size)
that is allowed to build components when the equipment
is used. For the EBM system (ARCAM A2, ARCAM
AB, Sweden), the spherical alloy powder of Ti-6Al-4V
ELI (ASTM Grade 23, ARCAM AB) with the average
particle size of 40 lm was used. The deposition rate was
6 to 7 mm h1. For the LBM system (EOSINT M270,
EOS, Germany), the spherical particle alloy powder of
Ti-6Al-4V ELI with an average particle size of 20 lm
(ASTM Grade 23, EOS) was used. The deposition rate
was 7 to 8 mm h1, which corresponded to a volume
Fig. 1—Specimen layout: (a) schematics of the LBM and EBM
plates (60 9 60 mm2) with the build direction and the scan direction.
The plates were sliced into two halves (60 9 30 mm2) from which
the fatigue specimens were taken; and (b) schematics of the three-
point bend fatigue specimen under a cyclic load. The dashed lines
schematically illustrate the deposition layers (not drawn to scale).
Table I. Nominal Chemical Composition (w/o) of the Ti-6Al-4V ELI Powder Used in the EBM and LBM Systems to Fabricate
Alloy Plates
Process Al V C
EBM powder (ArcamAB) 6.0 4.0 0.03
LBM powder (EOS) 6.0 4.1 0.02
Ti-6Al-4V ELI 6.06 4.07 0.013
CP Ti (ASTM Grade 2) — — <0.009
METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A
deposition rate of 1680 to 1920 mm3 h1. The nominal
chemical compositions of each powder are listed in
Table I. Rolled plates of Ti-6Al-4V ELI, Ti-6Al-4V, and
CP Ti were used as controls. The compositions of these
alloys are also presented in Table I.
Small sections were cut from the EBM and LBM
plates (10 9 10 9 2 mm3, n = 2) and made into metal-
lographic specimens. The orientation of the test speci-
men with respect to the deposition and build directions
is presented in Figure 1. These specimens were mechan-
ically polished and etched using a hydrofluoric acid-
based solution.[26] The prepared surfaces were then
examined using an optical microscope (Epiphot 200,
Nikon, Japan). Microstructures on planes both parallel
and perpendicular to the beam direction were charac-
terized for both the EBM and LBM specimens. The
roughness and topography of the as-fabricated surfaces
of the EBM and LBM plates as well as the rolled
surfaces of Ti-6Al-4V and CP Ti plates were character-
ized by scanning electron microscopy (Quanta, FEI
Hillsboro, OR) and by profilometry (Dektak 150, Veeco
Instruments Inc., Plainview, NY). For surface profile
measurements, individual surfaces of eight specimens
were scanned using a contact profilometer (Dektak 150,
Veeco Instruments Inc., Plainview, NY) four to eight
times (4 < n £ 8) to determine the surface profile over a
distance of 1 mm. These measurements were then used
to obtain the mean and the maximum values of the
surface roughness, Ra.
Rectangular beam specimens of the dimensions of
30 9 2.5 9 4 mm3 were fabricated from the LBM and
EBM plates by electro-discharging machining (EDM).
Figure 1(a) shows the orientation of the fatigue speci-
men with respect to the build direction. The longitudinal
direction of the specimens was parallel to the direction
in the LBM or EBM, as shown in Figure 1(a). The
dimensions of the cast beam specimens were
35 9 5 9 1 mm3. The fatigue life of the beam specimens
was evaluated by three-point bending with a span of
20.67 mm under a load-controlled condition at 10 Hz.
Figure 1(b) illustrates the cyclic loading direction with
respect to the build direction and the layer orientation.
Because of different specimen dimensions, the cyclic
loads were controlled such that the maximum stress on
the outside surface was 600 MPa with a stress ratio (R)
of 0.1. Previous work has shown that the fatigue limit
(107 cycles) of LBM Ti-6Al-4V is 600 MPa at
R = 0.1.[8] For the EBM and LBM specimens, fatigue
tests of ten specimens each (n = 10) were performed on
(1) the as-fabricated surfaces and (2) the EDM surfaces.
For testing on the EDM surfaces, the EBM and LBM
Fe O N H Ti
0.10 0.10 0.01 <0.003 bal.
0.10 0.08 0.01 0.0024 bal.
0.18 0.11 0.004 0.024 bal.
<0.008 <0.14 <0.006 <0.006 bal.
specimens were placed such that the EDM surfaces
loaded by the pins with the LBM and EDM as-fabricated
surfaces on the sides. As controls, fatigue tests were also
performed on the fatigue specimens of rolled Ti-6Al-4V
ELI (ASTM 23, Titanium Industries Inc., Grand Prairie,
TX), Ti-6Al-4V (ASTM 5, Titanium Industries), and CP
Ti (ASTM 2, Titanium Industries). The dimensions of
these fatigue specimens were 35 9 3.25 9 2.7 mm3 and
were fabricated from commercial plates with composi-
tions shown in Table I. The longitudinal direction of the
rolled specimens was parallel to the rolling direction. The
three-point bend fatigue tests were conducted until the
specimens failed into two pieces. As indicated earlier in
the Introduction, three-point bending fatigue was chosen
to characterize the fatigue response of LBM and EBM
materials because dental implant prosthesis and remov-
able partial denture frameworks are typically subjected to
bending loads. The size of the test specimens is compa-
rable to the size of the dental devices. Any potential
effects due to differences in the specimen size are
minimized because the fatigue tests were conducted
under stress-controlled conditions.
Each set of the fatigue life data was analyzed using a one-
way analysis of variance method and Holm-Sidak multiple
comparison procedure (a = 0.05)[27] as contained in the
SigmaPlot Version 11 software (Systat Software Inc.,
Chicago, IL). For medical device applications, the relevant
measure of fatigue resistance is not necessarily the fatigue
Fig. 2—Optical micrographs show the typical microstructures of Ti-6Al-4V ELI (a) LBM material, (b) EBM material, (c) rolled material, and
(d) cast materials. From Koike et al.[17]
life, but the probability of survival of the device beyond a
specified fatigue life. This measure of fatigue resistance
depends on the probability of finding a flaw in the stressed
volume, rather than on the maximum flaw size. To
characterize survivability, the Kaplan-Meier (KM)
method[28] was used to estimate the survival distribution
for the data taken on the specimens from each alloy. After
the fatigue tests were conducted, the fracture surfaces of
the fatigue specimens were characterized in a scanning
electron microscope (Quanta, FEI, Hillsboro, OR).
III. RESULTS
The microstructures of the four types of Ti-6Al-4V
ELI fabricated by different techniques are shown in
Figure 2. The EBM and LBM materials exhibit acicular
a (hcp) + b (bcc) and a  a¢ (martensite) microstruc-
tures, as shown in Figures 2(a) and (b), respectively.
These microstructures, which were characterized in
greater detail and reported earlier by Koike et al.,[17]
are similar to those reported by others.[4,12] Unlike
previous studies,[4–7] porosities due to the lack of fusion
were not observed along the interlayer boundaries of the
EBM and LBM materials, but surface porosities were
observed in the EBM materials. The wrought (rolled)
alloy shows a microstructure of small b particles
dispersed along the grain boundaries and within
METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A
elongated a grains on the rolled alloy. In contrast, the
cast alloy manifests an a surface layer and a coarse
microstructure of Widmanstatten a + b in the interior
away from the surface. The lamellar a + b structure in
the cast specimen was much coarser than those in the
LBM and EBM materials. The microstructure of CP Ti
is comprised of equiaxed a grains with an average grain
size of about 0.8 lm.
Figure 3 compares the surface appearances of Ti-6Al-
4V ELI specimens fabricated by LBM, EBM, and
wrought processing methods. The surface topography of
the as-fabricated EBM material, shown in Figure 3(a), is
comprised of partially melted or unmelted spherical
powder particles that are attached to the peaks and
valleys formed between incompletely filled layers, lead-
ing to a very rough and rippled surface. In contrast, the
external surface of the as-fabricated LBM material,
shown in Figure 3(b), is completely filled between layers
and the unmelted spherical powder particles, which are
smaller in size and fewer in number compared to the
EBM materials, are attached to a relatively smooth
Fig. 3—Surface topography of Ti-6Al-4V ELI materials fabricated by various methods: (a) as-fabricated surface of EBM material, (b) as-fabri-
cated surface of the LBM material, (c) EDM surface, and (d) rolled surface.
METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A
surface. The topography of the EDM surface, shown in
Figure 3(c), shows a rippled surface of shallow peaks
and valleys formed by the electro-discharging process.
The rolled surface, shown in Figure 3(d), is very smooth
with few surface features.
A comparison of the surface profiles for the seven
different surfaces determined by profilometry (Dektak
150, Veeco Instruments Inc., Plainview, NY) is pre-
sented in Figure 4. The roughest surfaces are seen in the
EBM material, followed by LBM, EDM, casting, and
then the rolled materials. The surface heights of rolled
Ti-6Al-4V ELI, Ti-6Al-4V, and CP-Ti, which are less
than 2 lm, lie on top of each other near the zero line, in
Figure 4. The surface profile of the EDM surfaces of the
LBM material is not shown in Figure 4 since it is
essentially identical to that of the EDM surfaces of the
EBM material. The corresponding mean of the maxi-
mum Ra values for individual surfaces, which range
from 131 lm for the EBM materials to 0.10 lm for the
rolled surfaces, are summarized in Table II. It should be
noted that the maximum Ra value for individual
surfaces is not presented in Figure 4 because of the large
differences in scale. In addition, the maximum Ra values
observed in the EBM and LBM materials are compa-
rable to the deposition layer thickness of the ALM
materials (100 lm for the EBM material and 40 lm for
the LBM material).
Figure 5 summarizes the yield strength, ultimate
tensile strength, and elongation data for each of the
four types of Ti-6Al-4V ELI specimens and CP Ti. The
height of each bar in the plot indicates the mean value of
the given group of specimens, and the interval about the
mean denotes ±1 standard deviation. The mechanical
properties for the wrought specimens were obtained
from the manufacturer’s data sheets. The mean strength
of the LBM and wrought specimens was similar,
whereas those of the EBM specimens were somewhat
lower than those two specimens. In the properties of the
cast specimens, note that the mean yield strength is the
EBM EDM
100 LBM Rolled ELI
Cast Rolled Regular
Rolled CP-Ti
lowest among all types of specimens. There are also
substantial variations in the tensile ductility (e.g.,
elongation), with the lowest elongation being observed
in the EBM material.
The mean fatigue lives and the standard deviations of
all materials investigated in this study are shown in
Figure 6. The fatigue life data for the individual alloys
were analyzed independently using rolled Ti-6Al-4V ELI
or rolled CP-Ti alloy as a control. Since all specimens
were tested until failure, the fatigue life data were not
censored. The resulting data were analyzed using a one-
way analysis of variance and a 0.05 significance level.
Pairwise multiple comparisons were then performed
using the Holm-Sidak method.[27] The results are sum-
marized in Table II. For each of the eight groups, the
resulting means and standard deviations are listed in
Columns 3 and 5, while means alone are listed in
Column 4. Column 6 contains the ID number of the
groups that had means significantly different (i.e.,
p < 0.05) from the mean for the Group in the given
row. For example, in Row #1, the means for Groups 2,

50
Height (y), µm

-50

-100
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Distance (x), µm

Fig. 4—A comparison of the surface profiles of the LBM, EBM,

EDM cast, and rolled surfaces. The surface profiles of the rolled sur-
faces of Ti-6Al-4V ELI, regular Ti-6Al-4V, and CP Ti are on top of Fig. 5—Tensile properties of Ti-6Al-4V ELI using different fabrica-
each other near the zero line. tion methods and CP Ti.

Table II. Summary of the Maximum Surface Roughness (Ra), Stress Intensity Factor at Micronotch due to Ra, and Mean Fatigue
Life for the Eight Materials with Different Surface Conditions

Maximum Mean Fatigue Group Significantly

Roughness (Ra), DK at Micronotch Life, Cycles Different with
Group Material lm (SD) (MPam) (SD) (p = 0.05)
1 Rolled Ti-6Al-4V 1.16 (0.36) 0.77 167,336 (22,009) 2,3,4,5,7,8
ELI
2 EBM Ti-6Al-4V 131.43 (45.48) 8.22 28,961 (5557) 1,3,4,5,6
ELI, as fabricated
3 EBM Ti-6Al-4V 5.12 (1.22) 1.62 48,926 (17,345) 1,2,5,6
ELI, EDM
4 LBM Ti-6Al-4V 38.5 (1.78) 4.45 62,113 (8323) 1,2,6,7
ELI, as fabricated
5 LBM Ti-6Al-4V 7.67 (0.69) 1.99 79,889 (27,348) 1,2,3,6,7,8
ELI, EDM
6 Rolled Ti-6Al-4V 1.03 (0.15) 0.73 190,980 (39,827) 2,3,4,5,7,8
7 Rolled CP Ti 1.72 (0.33) 0.94 33,897 (13,703) 1,4,5,6
8 Cast Ti-6Al-4V ELI 10.16 (1.15) 2.28 43,324 (16,792) 1,5,6
Pairwise multiple comparisons were performed with the Holm-Sidak method.

METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A

3, 4, 5, 7, and 8, were significantly different from the
mean for Group #1 for the given material.
The results in Table II indicate that the mean fatigue
life exhibited by the EBM material with the as-fabri-
cated surface (i.e., Group 2) is significantly lower
(p < 0.05) when compared to the means for the LBM
materials (as fabricated and EDM) and the rolled
Ti-6Al-4V materials (ELI or regular). The mean of the
LBM material with the as-fabricated surface is signifi-
cantly higher (p < 0.05) than the means of the EDM
counterpart and rolled CP Ti, but is significantly lower
(p < 0.05) than the means for the rolled Ti-6Al-4V ELI
and Ti-6Al-4V. The cast Ti-6Al-4V ELI has a signifi-
cantly lower (p < 0.05) mean fatigue life than those for
the rolled Ti-6Al-4V and LBM with the EDM surface.
There is no significant difference between the mean
fatigue life of the cast Ti-6Al-4V ELI, EBM with the as-
fabricated surface, and rolled CP Ti.
In addition, the KM method[28] was utilized to
estimate the survival distribution for the data taken on
Fig. 6—Mean fatigue life of the eight groups of Ti-Al-4V and CP Ti
materials with various surface conditions.
Fig. 7—Comparison of KM survival curves for the eight materials
evaluated in this study.
METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A
the specimens from each metal. These five distribu-
tions are plotted in Figure 7 and compared using the
Gehan-Breslow test.[27] The Gehan-Breslow statistic
indicates there is a statistically significant difference
(p < 0.001) between the survival curves of the eight
materials. Based on the mean of the fatigue life, the
rankings of the materials investigated are rolled
Ti-6Al-4V (regular or ELI), LBM-EDM, LBM-as
fabricated, EBM-EDM, cast material, rolled CP Ti,
and EBM-as fabricated in decreasing fatigue life. The
same ranking is obtained based on the survival curves
shown in Figure 7.
Scanning electron fractography was utilized to iden-
tify the fatigue crack initiation site in individual mate-
rials. For the EBM specimens with the as-fabricated
surfaces, fatigue crack initiated from the unfilled surface
cavities or partially melted powder particles attached to
the as-fabricated surfaces, as shown in Figure 8(a). At a
higher magnification, the crack initiation site shown in
Figure 8(a) appears to be featureless and is located from
a surface notch with a sharp radius of curvature formed
between several partially melted and unmelted powder
particles, Figure 8(b). For EDM specimens with the
EDM surface, fatigue crack initiated from surface
features produced by the EDM process as shown in
Figure 8(c). These surface features appear as rounded
surface depressions without a sharp radius of curvature,
as shown in Figure 8(d). No internal pores were
observed in the EBM material.
For the LBM specimens with the as-fabricated
surfaces subjected to the maximum stress ranges, fatigue
crack initiated from the curved surfaces where the
partially melted or unmelted powder particles attached
to the as-fabricated surfaces, as shown in Figure 9(a). At
higher magnifications, the crack initiation site shown in
Figures 9(b) and (c) showed that the crack initiated
from a surface notch and propagated to form a feature-
less region near the surface. Further away from the edge
of the surface, the fracture surface exhibited an appear-
ance reminiscent of the acicular features of the a + b
microstructure. Fatigue crack initiation at a rounded
depression where an intact, unmelted powder particle
attached to the surface is illustrated in Figure 9(d). The
acicular microstructure is evident on the fracture surface
throughout the entire fracture surface. No internal pores
were observed in the LBM materials.
The cast Ti-6Al-4V ELI material also showed fatigue
crack initiation from the surface, as shown in
Figure 10(a). At a higher magnification, the fatigue
cracks appeared to originate from the alpha case formed
on the surfaces of the cast material, as shown in
Figures 10(b). Previous studies[29,30] have shown that the
alpha case is enriched with oxygen and exhibits a higher
microhardness, but lower ductility and fracture resis-
tance than the interior of the cast specimen.
The rolled surfaces of Ti-6Al-4V ELI, Ti-6Al-4V, and
CP Ti were very smooth. Fatigue crack initiation from
the rolled surface of Ti-6Al-4V ELI is illustrated in
Figures 11(a) and (b), while those for rolled Ti-6Al-4V
and CP Ti are presented in Figures 11(c) and (d),
respectively. In all three cases, fatigue crack initiated
from grains without any obvious relations with the
Fig. 8—Fatigue crack initiation sites in an EBM material (a) crack initiation at a notch-like surface feature formed between deposited layers and
unmelted powder particles attached to the surface, (b) crack initiation site viewed at a higher magnification shows a featureless facet, (c) fatigue
crack initiation for EDM material with an EDM surface, and (d) crack initiation site (left) viewed at a higher magnification.

surface features when observed at magnifications rang-
ing from 1009 to 20009.
Fatigue striations were not detected in any of the
Ti-6Al-4V materials. Instead, acicular features reminis-
cent of the acicular or lamellar a + b microstructure
were observed. In comparison, fatigue striations were
observed in rolled CP Ti. All of the LBM and EBM
materials showed a dimpled fracture in the fast fracture
region without the presence of any visible pores due to
lack of fusion. The rolled and cast materials also
exhibited dimpled fracture.
IV. DISCUSSION
The manufacturers of the EBM and LBM equipments
specify the type of powders and the operation conditions
for fabricating parts. Because of these restrictions, the
powder sizes utilized as material input and the
microstructures of the fabricated plates were different even
though Ti-6Al-4V ELI powders were used. Comparisons
of the mechanical and fatigue properties of the LBM and
EBM materials against those of cast and rolled materials
are still meaningful since the microstructures and the
surface conditions produced are inherent characteristics of
the processing methods. In certain ways, the comparisons
are similar to comparing the material properties of powder-
metallurgy (PM) alloys or rapidly solidified (RS) materials
against those of rolled or cast materials in the sense that the
PM and RS materials contain grain sizes and microstruc-
tural features that are typically not achievable through
wrought processing or conventional casting. On this basis,
the fatigue resistance of the various materials has been
assessed by comparing the cycles to fatigue failure and the
survival distributions of the LBM and EBM materials
against those of the controls, which included rolled CP-Ti
and rolled Ti-6Al-4V ELI. These controls have been
selected because they are commonly used in dental implant
prostheses. As such, this study has focused more on
identifying the major factors that limit the fatigue perfor-
mance of the two ALM materials compared to conven-
tional wrought and cast materials currently used in dental

METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A

Fig. 9—Fatigue crack initiation sites in the LBM material (a) top view of the fracture surface with small unmelted powder particles attached to
the as-fabricated surface, (b) notch-like surface feature where fatigue crack initiated and propagated to failure, (c) a surface notch viewed at a
higher magnification, and (d) crack initiation from a rounded depression when an unmelted powder particle attached to the as-fabricated surface.

Fig. 10—Fatigue crack initiation at the alpha-case surface layer in the cast material: (a) crack initiation sites near the surface layer and (b) fati-
gue facet in the alpha case.

METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A

Fig. 11—(a) and (b) Top view of the fracture surface viewed at a low magnification and crack initiation sites near the surface for Ti-6Al-4V;
(c) and (d) Top view of the fracture surface viewed at a low magnification and crack initiation sites near the surface for CP Ti.
implant prostheses. No attempt was made to compare the
fatigue performance of the two ALM materials on the basis
of identical microstructure since the ultimate goal of this
work is to consider the possibility of replacing CP-Ti dental
implants with those of Ti-6Al-4V ELI fabricated by LBM
or EBM by virtue of a higher fatigue strength and a longer
fatigue life.
The results of this investigation showed that both
EBM and LBM produced rough surface topography on
the fabricated parts because partially melted or even
unmelted power particles are left attached to the finished
surfaces. The as-fabricated surfaces produced by EBM
are rougher than the LBM surfaces because of the
presence of unfilled cavities between layers, larger layer
thickness, and large powder size (100-lm deposition
layer thickness and 40-lm powders for EBM materials;
40-lm deposition layer thickness and 20-lm powders for
LBM materials). These rough surface features contain a
sharp radius of curvature and resemble surface notches
where local stresses can concentrate and act as sites for
fatigue crack initiation to occur. The lower mean fatigue
life observed in the as-fabricated EBM surface can in
large measure be attributed to a higher stress concentra-
tion factor associated with a sharper radius of curvature
associated the surface notches observed in the EBM
materials compared to those observed in the LBM
materials and the absence of notch-like surfaces features
in the rolled surfaces of regular and ELI alloys of Ti-6Al-
4V. Since different processing techniques led to vari-
ability in microstructures (Figure 2), ultimate tensile
strengths, and tensile ductility (Figure 5), some of the
fatigue life differences observed in Ti-6Al-4V could also
originate from variations in the microstructure and
deformation characteristics since they can affect the
cyclic slip as well as the fatigue crack initiation and
growth processes. In general, wrought Ti-6Al-4V can be
expected to exhibit a longer fatigue life than cast, EBM,
and LBM materials by virtue of a finer microstructure, a
higher ultimate tensile strength, and a larger tensile
elongation. The fatigue mechanism characteristics ob-
served in EBM and LBM materials are reminiscent of the
axial fatigue results of Yue et al.,[23] who reported that
fatigue crack initiation in Ti-6Al-4V ELI with a conven-
tional powder-metallurgy porous coating occurred at the
METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A
powder particle/substrate contact interface as the result
of stress concentration at the interface. The EDM
surfaces of the EBM and LBM materials are much
smoother and exhibit lower Ra values (Ra = 5 to 7 lm)
compared to the EBM and LBM surfaces (38 to 131 lm),
as shown in Table II. The cast Ti-6Al-4V ELI material
does not manifest notch-like features on the surface, but
contains a hard, brittle alpha-phase layer[29,30] and a
fairly rough surface (Ra = 10 lm) that can promote
fatigue crack initiation and lead to a lower mean fatigue
life. For rolled CP Ti, the surface does not contain notch-
like features or a hard alpha case. The relatively low mean
fatigue life observed in this material can be attributed to a
lower yield strength and a higher local plastic strain
amplitude compared to Ti-6Al-4V since all the fatigue
tests were conducted at the same stress amplitude
(Dr = 600 MPa at R = 0.1). A higher local plastic
strain range can lead to a lower fatigue life.
Figure 12 shows a comparison of the mean fatigue life
of various Ti-6Al-4V fatigue specimens as a function of
the maximum surface roughness, Ra. The comparison
indicates that the mean fatigue life decreases with
increasing values of the surface roughness amplitude
parameter, Ra. The lowest mean fatigue life is observed
in the EBM material, which exhibits the largest Ra value.
The LBM material exhibits the second largest Ra value.
The corresponding mean fatigue life is, however, higher
than those of the cast material or the EBM material with
the EDM surfaces. The highest mean fatigue life is
observed in the two rolled materials with the lowest Ra
values. A similar trend is observed when the mean
surface roughness is used as the correlating parameter.
These observations can be understood on the basis that
the surface irregularities can be considered as surface
micronotches with a depth of Ra. The elastic stress
concentration factor, Kt, for an elliptical notch of depth
d and a root radius r is given by[31,32]
rffiffiffi
d is uncertain that Eq. [1] is valid in the micrometer scale
Kt ¼ 1 þ 2 ½1
r
which is applicable in the continuum scale. The notch
depth of the EBM and LBM materials can be taken as
10 6
Ti-6Al-4V
Rolled
Mean Fatigue Life, Cycles
Rolled ELI
EDM_LBM
EDM_EBM
-0.34
10 5
1 by virtue of their larger Ra values compared to rolled
10 4
0.1 1 10 100
Maximum Surface Roughness (Ra ), µm
Fig. 12—Mean fatigue life as a function of the maximum surface
roughness, Ra.
METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A
the maximum Ra values shown in Table II. The notch
radii for EBM and LBM were 0.8 lm for the micro-
notches shown in Figures 8 and 9(c). The notch radii of
both the EBM and LBM materials were smaller than the
sizes (diameters) of the powder particles (20 lm for
LBM material and 40 lm for the EBM material) since
the micronotches were usually formed by partial fusion
or joining of two particles. Based on these notch depth
and radius values, the completed Kt values for the EBM
and LBM materials are 9.1 and 5.4, respectively. The
notch-like features did not exist on the EDM, cast, or
rolled surfaces. For EDM, cast, or rolled surfaces, the
Ra (or d) is small and r is very large. Thus, the Kt of any
micronotch, if present, would be approximately 1.0.
These high Kt values of the EBM and LBM surface
features suggest that fatigue crack initiation can occur
fairly easily and the fatigue life is controlled primarily by
the crack growth under a rapidly diminishing stress
gradient.[32,33] Under this circumstance, it is more
appropriate to treat the surface micronotch as a surface
crack with a total crack depth, d + a, which becomes
Ra + a when d is taken to be Ra. The stress intensity
factor associated with such a microcrack is given by[33,34]
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
DK ¼ FDr pðRa þ aÞ ½2
where Dr is the stress range, F is the boundary-correc-
tion factor, a is the crack depth, and Ra serves as the
initial ‘‘notch’’ depth, d. The boundary-correction fac-
tor, F, is a function of crack geometry. For simplicity,
a semi-circular crack with equal crack depth and crack
half length was assumed. This assumption led to
F = 0.674 for a semi-circular surface crack. Setting
a = 0 prior to crack initiation reduces Eq. [2] to
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
DK ¼ 0:674Dr pRa ½3
with Dr = 600 MPa for the three-point bend fatigue
tests. A Kt was not applied to Eqs. [2] and [3] because it
range. Furthermore, the notch field is expected to be
small for the high Kt values observed in the EBM and
LBM materials. Despite ignoring the Kt effect in Eq. [3],
the surface micronotch still exhibits a driving force that
can initiate a fatigue crack and propagate the fatigue
crack to failure once it is initiated. That driving force,
DK, was computed for individual materials using Eq. [3],
Dr = 600 MPa, and the maximum Ra values listed in
Cast
Table II. The maximum Ra value was used because it
LBM
EBM
represented the worst case scenario for the initial crack
depth. The results, presented in Table II, indicate that
the DK value is larger for the EBM and LBM materials
surfaces. A higher DK at a notch root is expected to lead
to a higher local stress range and a lower fatigue crack
initiation life. Furthermore, a higher DK is also expected
to lead to a higher fatigue crack growth rate and a lower
fatigue crack growth life. Therefore, fatigue life of the
1000 various Ti-6Al-4V materials is expected to decrease with
increasing maximum Ra values. A double logarithmic
plot of mean fatigue life versus maximum Ra is shown in
Figure 12, which shows that fatigue life decreases with
increasing Ra values with a slope of 0.34 with a
substantial scatter. The experimental trend of decreasing means of improving the surface finish and fatigue life is
mean fatigue life with increasing values of the maximum to reduce the layer thickness since the maximum surface
surface roughness shown in Figure 12, which can be roughness, Ra, corresponds to the deposition layer
explained using the surface notch argument, is attrib- thickness used to fabricate the EBM and LBM materials.
uted largely to increasing influence of surface roughness Other possible methods for improving the surface finish
(i.e., notch depth) on the fatigue crack initiation process, include machining the ALM parts and making an
the fatigue crack growth process, or both. The large additional EBM or LBM pass on the part surfaces to
scatter shown in Figure 12 could arise from uncertain- eliminate any unfilled gaps.
ties of the location of the deepest roughness valley, crack
geometry, and differences in the microstructure, the
ultimate strength, and the tensile ductility, since these V. CONCLUSIONS
material parameters are also known to affect fatigue life.
Surface porosity has been intentionally introduced This study compares the fatigue lives of Ti-6Al-4V
into Ti implant materials for the purpose of improving fabricated by layer deposition through EBM and LBM
bone in-growth in order to achieve a better bonding techniques against those fabricated through rolling or
between metal implant and living tissue.[23] Thus, the conventional casting techniques. The conclusions
presence of surface porosity and partially filled gaps reached as the results of this study are as follows:
between powder particles on the surfaces of EBM and
1. The EBM material studied exhibits a very rough as-
LBM materials can be considered as an advantage from
fabricated surface because of the presence of unfilled
the viewpoint of bonding with the living tissue. This
gaps and cavities between layers and partially melted
positive effect of surface porosity, however, must be
or unmelted powder particles attached to the surfaces.
considered together with its negative effect on reduced
These rough surface features can serve as stress concen-
fatigue life and durability. From the results of this study,
tration and fatigue crack initiation sites because of a
it is apparent that the fatigue life of parts fabricated by
deeper notch depth and a sharp radius of curvature.
EBM and LBM layer deposition techniques depends on
2. The LBM material studied exhibits a relatively
the quality of the surface finish. The deposition condi-
smooth as-fabricated surface because of complete
tions such as build rate, powder particle size, scan rate,
filling between layers, and the unmelted powder
and among others, deposition layer thickness are
particles attached to the layers are small in size and
expected to affect the surface finish and therefore the
few in number. These surface features are less effec-
fatigue life. For the LBM and EBM materials considered
tive as stress concentration and fatigue crack initia-
in this study, the LBM material was fabricated with a
tion sites because of a smaller notch depth.
lower layer thickness (40 lm) and powder size (20 lm)
3. Conventionally cast material forms a hard alpha-
compared to a layer thickness of 100 lm and a powder
phase layer on a rough surface that serves as the
particle size of 40 lm for the EBM material. The LBM
fatigue crack initiation site and leads to a reduced
material exhibits a smoother surface finish compared to
fatigue life.
the EBM material because the powder particles attached
4. Based on statistical analyses of the mean of the fati-
to the surface are smaller in size and fewer in number. It
gue life and the survival curves, the rankings of the
is worthy to note that the maximum Ra values measured,
materials investigated are rolled Ti-6Al-4V (regular
shown in Table II, for the EBM and LBM materials are
or ELI), LBM-EDM, LBM-as fabricated, EBM-
on the order of the layer thickness. Furthermore, there
EDM, Cast material, EBM-as fabricated, and CP
are no unfilled gaps or cavities between individual layers
Ti in decreasing fatigue life.
in the LBM materials, while these surface features are
5. The mean fatigue life of Ti-6Al-4V decreases with
present in the EBM material studied. Both the LBM and
increasing maximum roughness (depth) of the sur-
EBM processes produce parts that are free of an alpha
face features due to stress concentrations at the sur-
case, which is a significant difference compared to the
face features. The mean fatigue life of rolled CP Ti
cast material. Despite the presence of attached powder
is comparatively low because of a considerably low-
particles, the surfaces of the LBM material are suffi-
er yield strength compared to Ti-6Al-4V.
ciently smooth and fatigue-resistant that medical and
6. LBM produces a more fatigue-resistant surface finish
dental prostheses made by this method could possibly be
than EBM, largely due to the reduction of notch-like
used in the as-fabricated condition without the need to
surface features between individual layers.
polish the surfaces by mechanical or chemical means.
7. The maximum surface roughness value, Ra, in the
However, removal of those surface features from the
EBM and LBM materials is comparable to the depo-
LBM and EBM by machining would improve the surface
sition layer thickness used to build the materials.
integrity[19] and the fatigue lives of both materials. A
point worthy of note is that the LBM Ti-6Al-4V material
in the as-fabricated surfaces exhibits a significantly
longer mean fatigue life compared to that of rolled CP ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Ti at identical stresses (p < 0.05), as shown in Figure 7
and Table II. Thus, layered deposition by LBM shows This study was partially supported by a Research
characteristics attractive for prototyping medical and Grant DE018395 from the National Institutes of Health/
dental prostheses compared to conventional CP Ti, but National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research,
the surface finish still needs improvement. One possible Bethesda, MD 20892.

METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS TRANSACTIONS A

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