Compressive properties of hot-rolled Mg-Zr-Ca alloys for biomedical applications

This paper investigated the microstructures and compressive properties of hot-rolled Mg-Zr-Ca alloys for biomedical applications. The microstructures of the Mg-Zr-Ca alloys were examined by X-ray diffraction analysis and optical microscopy, and the compressive properties were determined from compressive tests. The experimental results indicate that the hot-rolled Mg-Zr-Ca alloys with 1% Ca are composed of one single α phase and those alloys with 2% Ca consist of both Mg2Ca and α phase. The hot-rolled Mg-Zr-Ca alloys exhibit typical elongated microstructures with obvious fibrous stripe, and have much higher compressive strength and lower compressive modulus than pure Mg. All the studied alloys have much higher compressive yield strength than the human bone (90∼140 MPa) and comparable modulus with the human bone, suggesting that they have a great potential to be good candidates for biomedical applications.