Wear resistance of as-cast ZnMg-Y biodegradable alloy

Abstract. Biodegradable metallic materials offer a viable option for numerous medical devices where mechanical support of the implant is not required indefinitely. In some practical applications, biocompatible/biodegradable metallic elements are mechanically stressed by contact friction, compression, shear, or tensile forces. Metal samples (50x10x3 mm) were fabricated from cast ZnMgY ingots. An Amsler machine was used to apply frictional stress to the samples by placing the test specimen at the upper point of the tribological contact of the machine. The rotating element of the mechanical equipment is made of bearing steel (ASTM A295). During the friction testing of the experimental ZnMgY samples, the frictional torque was recorded using tensiometric measurements in conjunction with a Vishay P3 strain gage (Vishay, Germany). The recorded values were further processed by Savitzky-Golay filtering. Wear tests (20 N and 30 N load applied) lasted 1800 s at a constant low disc speed of 100 rpm and were performed in dry mode. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM 2D and 3D) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were used to evaluate wear marks.