Direct morphological comparison of vacuum plasma sprayed and detonation gun sprayed hydroxyapatite coatings for orthopaedic applications
H.C. Gledhill, I.G. Turner, C. Doyle
Biomaterials
Abstract
Hydroxyapatite coatings on titanium substrates were produced using two thermal spray techniques vacuum plasma spraying and detonation gun spraying. X-ray diraction was used to compare crystallinity and residual stresses in the coatings. Porosity was measured using optical microscopy in conjunction with an image analysis system. Scanning electron microscopy and surface roughness measurements were used to characterise the surface morphologies of the coatings. The vacuum plasma sprayed coatings were found to have a lower residual stress, a higher crystallinity and a higher level of porosity than the detonation gun coatings. It is concluded that consideration needs to be given to the signicance of such variations within the clinical context.
keywords:Hydroxyapatite; Detonation gun spraying; Vacuum plasma spraying; Biomedical coatings
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