The main goal of the project is to understand the mechanisms of chemical etching to obtain superficial roughness for biomedical applications. The material studied in this project is Yttria Tetragonal Zirconia Polycristal (3Y- TZP). The project is divided in four different parts in order to better understand the microstructure and the damage of different etching conditions. The first one is related to evaluate the different levels of roughness of zirconia, mainly by advanced techniques such as profilometer and atomic force microscopy (AFM). In the second part, the mechanical responses by nanoindentation generated under sharp indentation will be detailed by: laser confocal microscopy and AFM for superficial damage, and focused ion beam (FIB) for sub-superficial damage. A third part involves the statistical study of fracture by Weibull analysis. Finally, the tribological properties of the different speciments will be studied by nanoscratch and wear resistance. These tests permit to understand wether the chemical attacks leave the material's mechanical properties unchanged, with different levels of roughness.

Incoming