저널

The cementless fixation of bone ingrowth by porous coatings on artificial hip joint prostheses are replacing polymethylmethacrylate(PMMA) bone cement fixations. However, the major interests in the field of porous metal coating are environmental corrosivity accelerated by metal ion release, deterioration in the mechanical property of the coating, and the mechanical failure of the coatings as well as the substrate. Therefore, the selection of right materials for coatings and the development of porous coating techniques must be accomplished. Because of the existing problems in Ti and Ti alloys which are used extensively, this study is focused on the plasma spraying technique for coating on super stainless steel substrate. In order to determine the optimum conditions which satisfy the requirement for the porous coatings, under the plasma spraying, we selected the experimental parameters which extensively influenced on the characteristics of the coating through the pre-examination. Spray distance has been selected among 120, 160, and 200mm and primary gas flow rate among 70, 100, and 130 SCFH. Current and secondary gas($H_2$) flow rate was fixed at 400A, and 15 SCFH respectively. To understand the characteristics of the coatings, surface morphology, cross-sectional micro-structure, surface roughness, residual stress, and corrosion resistance were elucidated and the best conditions for the bone ingrowth improvement on artificial hip joint prostheses were found.