Improving the abrasion resistance of AISI 304L metallic biomaterial by microwave boriding

Metallic materials are used as biomaterials thanks to their high mechanical properties. However, their low resistance to corrosion and abrasion reduces the biocompatibility of them. In this study, the abrasion resistance of AISI 304L metallic biomaterial was improved by pack-boriding with microwave hybrid heating. For this purpose, AISI 304L material was pack-borided by using EKABOR II powder for two, four and six hours in a microwave oven with a power of 2.9 kW and a frequency of 2.45 GHz at temperatures of 850°C, 900°C and 950°C. A boride layer with a thickness ranging between 12.1 μm-56.6 μm was obtained on the surface as a result of boriding. The specific wear rate of the AISI 304L material pack-borided for four hours at 950°C, which exhibits the highest wear resistance, has been determined as 1.04656 × 10-5 mm3/Nm. The abrasion resistance of AISI 304L metallic biomaterial was increased 28 times by microwave boriding.