Enhancing Structural Integrity of Magnesium with Hydroxyapatite and Tantalum Reinforcement

The present study reports on the development and characterization of Mg-Ta-HA composites with powder metallurgy. The densities and porosities of magnesium composites and pure magnesium are calculated, and the Rule-of-Mixture method used to determine the theoretical density of the composites. It verified that dense pure magnesium and magnesium composites be produced using powder metallurgy techniques. Examining the composites' microstructures reveals the uniformity of the grain size as well as the impact of changing the Ta and HA reinforcement. The lack of intermetallic compounds between magnesium and reinforcement confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. Magnesium powders undergo mechanical milling to lower their average particle size, and reinforcement materials added to further reduce the particle size. The milling process results in a decrease in powder size due to the friction generated by the reinforcement materials. Both the compressibility of the green compacts and the attachment of particles during sintering impact the densification and porosity of the composites. The results indicate that composites with 3 and 6 wt% Ta have fine Ta and HA particles evenly dispersed in the Mg matrices, with no voids. In contrast, composites with 8 wt% HA and 9 wt% Ta show agglomeration of Ta particles in the Mg matrices and the appearance of noticeable voids. As the Ta, content increases from 0 to 6 wt%, the ultimate compression strengths, failure strain, and elastic moduli of the composites tend to rise. However, these properties seem to decrease as the Ta content increases further from 6 to 9 wt%. Nonetheless, the yield strength increases as the Ta reinforcement goes from 6 to 9 wt%. It suggested identify the optimal parameters for producing biocompatible Mg composites with appropriate strength, hardness, and ductility.