Fatigue life determination of plasma nitrided medical grade CoCrMo alloy

In this paper, the fatigue behaviour of plasma nitrided medical grade forged CoCrMo alloy was studied. Since metallic biomaterials are used for implant applications where high and/or cyclic stresses along with corrosive effects of human body are of concern, enhancing mechanical and surface properties of implant alloys is crucial. Plasma nitriding was implemented at three different temperatures as 600, 700 and 800 degrees C for time intervals of 1 and 4 h. S-N curves of untreated and nitrided specimens were obtained via axial tension compression fatigue tests. It was found that plasma nitriding treatment reduces the fatigue resistance of forged CoCrMo alloy by the ratios of 7-23% depending on the surface roughness, phase structure and hardness of the modified layer which are determined by the treatment parameters.