| A novel powder-metallurgical route was used to fabricate near net-shaped hydroxyapatite, Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2 (HA) and HA+Co-C-Mo composite bodies. Ca and beta-Ca2P 2O7 with Ca/P ∼ 1.67 was intimately mixed by high-energy mechanical alloying, formed into desired shapes by pressing and machining, and then converted into HA with a series of heat treatments: a 600°C annealing in dry O2 completely oxidized calcium within 3 h, and a subsequent annealing at ≤1150°C in moist O2 yielded phase-pure HA. The reduction in solid volume associated with the oxidation of calcium (Vm[CaO] < Vm[Ca]) was offset by the increase in solid volume associated with the conversion of CaO and Ca2P2O7 into HA. Thus, the overall dimensional changes upon transformation of Ca+beta-Ca2P 2O7 precursors into HA can be relatively small.; A mixture of Co-Cr-Mo powder with the precursor prepared from Ca and beta-Ca 2P2O7, targeted to yield a 75 to 25 volume ratio of Co-Cr-Mo to stoichiometric HA were prepared with the same method but different annealing cycles: annealing at 1150°C in de-oxygenized, flowing Ar resulted in partial densification of the composite bodies, and subsequent annealing at 850°C in a moist O2 atmosphere yielded a composite of Co-Cr-Mo alloy with phase-pure HA. The overall dimensional changes upon transformation of Ca+beta-Ca2P2O7+CO-Cr-Mo precursors into HA/Co-Cr-Mo composite were relatively small. In this thesis, the phase and microstructural evolution at various stages of transformation to monolithic HA and to HA/Co-Cr-Mo alloy composites are discussed.; Planar reaction couples and powder compacts of CaO-TCP were prepared to study the kinetics for HA formation from CaO+TCP. Pt strips were used in the planar reaction couples as inert markers. These reaction couples were heated at 1150°C for various times in moist O2. The results of powder compact analyses fits Carter's model, which indicated that the rate of HA conversion from CaO and TCP is limited by solid state diffusion of Ca 2+ and/or OH- through the HA layer. |
