Abstract:
This study focused on the preparation of Hydroxyapatite (HAP) and Alumina (Al2O3)
biocomposite using the powder metallurgy (PM) technique. HAP is an osteoconductive
material with good biocompatibility, widely used in biomedical applications. However, it
has a major drawback, it shows poor mechanical properties, due to which it limits its use
in biomedical load-bearing applications such as orthopedic implants. The objective of this
study was to create a new material for load-bearing biomedical applications that has a
relatively low modulus, sufficient strength, and excellent biocompatibility. This led to the
development of the HAP-Alumina bio-composite, which exhibits both good mechanical
properties and good osteoconductivity. The microstructure analysis and mechanical testing
of the sintered samples were carried out to evaluate its density, macro hardness fracture
toughness, and compressive strength. The research findings indicate that the mechanical
properties of the composites improve with an increase in the concentration of Al2O3 and
decrease with an increase in the amount of HAP. A predicted model equation using DoE
was also formed. The composite consisting of 55% HAP and 45% Alumina was found to
be optimal for biomedical applications when sintered at 1250°C for 120 minutes
