Mechanical Properties of Biomedical Co-33Cr-5Mo-0.

3N Alloy
at Elevated Temperatures
Tadayoshi Odahara, Hiroaki Matsumoto and Akihiko Chiba
Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan
In order to examine the mechanical properties of a biomedical Co-33Cr-5Mo-0.3N alloy at elevated temperatures, tensile tests have been
conducted in the temperature range from room temperature to 1373 K at initial strain rates of 1.0 10
1
s
1
and 1.4 10
4
s
1
. The 0.2% proof
stress and the tensile strength as a function of temperature have the plateau and the hump, respectively, at intermediate temperatures. The
elongation to fracture increases at intermediate temperatures and abruptly decreases at higher temperatures. The decrease of the elongation at
higher temperatures arises from the intergranular fracture, possibly caused by the equilibrium segregation of harmful elements such as sulfur.
The serrations on the stress-strain curves are observed at intermediate temperatures. The temperature range where the elongation is enhanced and
the serrations appear is shifted to lower temperatures at a low strain rate. The 0.2% proof stress does not increase with increasing strain rate and
the strain rate sensitivity exhibits negative values at intermediate temperatures. It is considered that a serration leading to large elongation results
from the dynamic strain aging. [doi:10.2320/matertrans.MAW200816]
(Received May 28, 2008; Accepted June 13, 2008; Published August 25, 2008)
Keywords: cobalt chromium molybdenum alloy, biomaterial, tensile test, mechanical properties, ductility, elongation, fracture, dislocation,
dissociated dislocation, shockley partials, strain rate sensitivity, dynamic strain aging, Portevin-LeChatelier eect
1. Introduction
It is well known that Stainless steel, Titanium alloys and
Cobalt chromium molybdenum alloys are used for articial
joint, stent, wire, instrument for surgery and so on.
Especially, Co-Cr-Mo alloys have been widely applied to
articial joints because of their excellent mechanical proper-
ties, wear resistance and biocompatibility.
14)
Co-Cr-Mo
alloys are standardized in the ASTM standards.
5)
ASTM F75
is for as-cast alloy, which should be less than 1.0 mass%Ni
content because Ni is the most common metal sensitizer in
the human body.
6)
ASTM F90 & F562 are for the forged
alloy, which are allowed to add Ni because the plastic
property has to be improved.
7)
Alloying Ni to Co-Cr-Mo
alloy results in the stabilization of FCC structure (, phase)
which has a lot of slip systems and the suppression of the
precipitate of o phase which gives rise to the brittle fracture.
8)
Thus it is inevitable that Ni is added to Co-Cr-Mo alloy to
enhance the plastic property at the present time. However,
as mentioned above, from the point of view of an allergic
reaction, the wrought Co-Cr-Mo alloy also should have little
Ni content. Hence the wrought Ni free- Co-Cr-Mo alloy is
eagerly anticipated.
Meanwhile, N has almost the same eect as Ni that is the
stabilizer of FCC structure for Co-Cr-Mo alloy.
9)
Besides, the
solubility of N increases with increasing Cr content in Co-Cr-
Mo alloy.
10)
As a result, Co-Cr-Mo alloy with the combina-
tion of N addition and Cr enrichment (hereafter designated
Hi Cr- & Hi N- Co-Cr-Mo alloy) shows the excellent
mechanical properties at room temperature compared with
conventional Co-Cr-Mo alloys
10)
Although Hi Cr- & Hi N-
Co-Cr-Mo alloy does not satisfy the ASTM F75 standards for
an as-cast alloy regarding the chemical compositions, the
alloy exhibits excellent mechanical properties satisfying the
requirement of the ASTM F75 standards. Thus it is thought
that the Hi Cr- & Hi N- Co-Cr-Mo alloy is a promising
candidate for an as-cast alloy for medical applications. In the
same way, the present alloy is also a promising one as a
forged alloy to supersede ASTM F90 & F562 alloys, because
it exhibits a prominent elongation as well as tensile strength
in spite of no Ni addition. Thus the present alloy has the high
potential as the wrought Ni free- Co-Cr-Mo alloy.
However the mechanical properties of the present alloy at
elevated temperatures have not been investigated yet, which
is needed for the plastic deformation processing, e.g.,
forging, pressing and rolling. Therefore, the purpose of the
present study is to reveal the mechanical properties of Hi Cr-
& Hi N- Co-Cr-Mo alloy at various temperatures and strain
rates. Through this study, the mechanical properties such as
the strength and elongation at elevated temperatures will be
revealed.
2. Experimental Procedure
Hi Cr- & Hi N- Co-Cr-Mo (Co-33Cr-5Mo-0.3N) alloy
were prepared by using a high-frequency vacuum induction
furnace in Ar atmosphere of 400 hPa. Cr
2
N powder was
added to the alloy melt for alloying N. The alloy melt was
cast into a metallic mold and was cooled in the furnace. The
ingot has approximately 6 kg in weight, 70 mm in diameter
and 200 mm in height. The chemical compositions were as
follows: Cr 32.7, Mo 5.03, N 0.29, Ni -0.01, C -0.01, O
0.02, Fe 0.04, Mn 0.56, S 0.002 and balance Co (all in
mass%). The heat treatment at 1493 K for 36 ks was carried
out to attain a chemical homogeneity by using an electrical
resistance furnace in Ar atmosphere after evacuating to
1.7 10
4
Pa.
The gauge size of the tensile specimens abraded using
emery paper up to grade 1500 was as follows: 1 mm in
thickness, 1.7 mm in width, 11.5 mm in length. All tensile
specimens were sliced from the outer area of the ingot so as to
avoid an anisotropy of dendrite structure. The tensile tests
were performed by using an Instron testing machine in the
temperature range from room temperature to 1373 K at initial
strain rates of 1.0 10
1
s
1
and 1.4 10
4
s
1
in Ar
atmosphere after evacuating to 5.0 10
4
Pa. The tensile
Materials Transactions, Vol. 49, No. 9 (2008) pp. 1963 to 1969
#2008 The Japan Institute of Metals
specimens were heated at heating rate of 0.33 Ks
1
before
tensile tests and were cooled in an Instron testing machine
after tensile tests.
The Optical macro-structure was observed after the surface
was abraded using emery paper up to grade 3000 and then
etched in a solution of four parts of HCl, one part of HNO
3
,
one part of acetone and one part of H
2
O. The microstructure
and the fractured surface of specimens after tensile tests were
observed by using scanning electron microscope (SEM)
equipped with an electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA).
X-Ray diraction patterns were measured between 2 40

and 80

using Cu K
o
radiation. The dislocation array
introduced by tensile test was observed by using transmission
electron microscope (TEM) at an accelerating voltage of
200 kV. The specimens of TEM observations were nally
thinned by using Ar Ion-milling method.
3. Experimental Results
3.1 Macro and microstructure observations
The optical macro-structure of a cross section of Hi Cr- &
Hi N- Co-Cr-Mo alloy ingot after the heat treatment is shown
in Fig. 1. In this gure, the columnar grains are observed in
the outer surfaces of a cross section of the ingot and the
equiaxed grains are observed in the center of a cross section
of the ingot. It is ordinary that the alloy melt solidies at
contacting surfaces with metallic mold, forming the colum-
nar grains toward the center of a cross section, and then the
equiaxed grains in the center. Thus all tensile specimens were
taken from the outer area of a cross section of the ingot in
order to avoid an anisotropy of the cast structures. The
backscattered electron images (BEI) of the outer surfaces of a
cross section of the ingot before and after the heat treatment
are shown in Fig. 2(a) and (b), respectively. As seen in
the gures, the dendritic structures become indistinct after
the heat treatment. The precipitates are observed in the
specimens both before and after the heat treatment. The
precipitates before the heat treatment appear needle-like,
whereas those after the heat treatment are globular. The
analyzed compositions by using EPMA at the precipitates
before and after the heat treatment are shown in Table 1. It is
found that the precipitates before the heat treatment are not o
phase, but a mixture of Mo-concentrated R(Co
49
Cr
21
Mo
30
)
and j(Co
7
Mo
6
) phase.
10)
Meanwhile, the concentrations of
Cr and Mo of the precipitates vary to be higher and lower,
respectively, with the heat treatment. Although the precip-
itates after the heat treatment appear to become o phase, these
could still be a mixture of Mo-concentrated R and j phase,
because the present alloy shows large elongation in spite of
containing some amount of precipitates, as described later in
detail. Therefore the cause to change the compositions of the
precipitates after the heat treatment is considered to be the
change of the ratio of R and j phase with the heat treatment.
Probably, the ratio of j phase with higher Mo content would
become lower, compared to that of R phase.
3.2 X-ray analysis
X-ray diraction patterns of Hi Cr- & Hi N- Co-Cr-Mo
alloy before and after the heat treatment are shown in Fig. 3.
Since the grain size of the specimens is large as shown in
Fig. 1, the diraction patterns show only one or two peaks in
10mm
Fig. 1 Optical macro-structure of a cross section of the Co-Cr-Mo alloy
ingot after the heat treatment.
(a) (b)
30 m 30 m
Fig. 2 Backscattered electron images of the Co-Cr-Mo alloy: (a) before the heat treatment and (b) after the heat treatment.
Table 1 Chemical composition of the precipitates before and after the heat
treatment measured by using EPMA (mass%).
Specimens Co Cr Mo
Before Heat Treatment
Precipitate 47.30 38.03 14.67
Matrix 61.32 34.23 4.45
After Heat Treatment
Precipitate 47.39 41.01 11.60
Matrix 60.72 34.56 4.72
1964 T. Odahara, H. Matsumoto and A. Chiba
this gure. The , phase (FCC structure) is predominant in the
present alloy before and after the heat treatment. The
diraction patterns have no peaks corresponding to those
of precipitates. Thus it is thought that the precipitates of
the alloy are very small amount. In addition, Fig. 3 shows the
X-ray diraction patterns of the specimens quenched into
water just after reaching the predetermined temperatures at
heating rate of 0.33 Ks
1
. The diraction patterns of those
specimens only show the peaks of the , phase. Therefore it is
considered that the , phase is predominant at each temper-
ature where the tensile tests are conducted.
3.3 Mechanical properties at elevated temperatures
Figure 4 shows the true stresstrue strain curves of Hi Cr-
& Hi N- Co-Cr-Mo alloy in the temperature range from room
temperature to 1373 K at an initial strain rate of 1.0
10
1
s
1
. As seen in the gure, in general trend, the 0.2%
proof stresses and the tensile strengths decrease with
increasing temperature. On the other hand, the elongation
increases at intermediate temperatures and decreases abrupt-
ly at higher temperatures. In addition, the serrations on the
stress-strain curves appear at intermediate temperatures,
which is called the Portevin-LeChatelier eect. Figure 5
shows the true stresstrue strain curves at an initial strain
rate of 1.4 10
4
s
1
. The results at this strain rate show the
same tendency as those at a strain rate of 1.0 10
1
s
1
. The
0.2% proof stress, the tensile strength and the elongation are
shown as a function of temperature in Fig. 6(a), (b) and (c),
respectively, where the plots of the elongation are nominal
strains. Although the 0.2% proof stress decreases with
increasing temperature, the curves at both strain rates have
the plateaus at intermediate temperatures. Similarly, the
tensile strength decreases with increasing temperature. The
curves at both strain rates, however, have the humps at
intermediate temperatures. As for the elongation, the curves
at both strain rates are found to have the humps at
intermediate temperatures. It is found that the plateaus and
the humps appear in the temperature range where the
serrations on the stress-strain curves are observed.
The variation in the work-hardening rates, do
t
,dc
t
, at
strain rates of 1.0 10
1
s
1
and 1.4 10
4
s
1
are shown
as a function of true stress, o
t
, in Fig. 7(a) and (b),
respectively. In general, the work-hardening rate of the
FCC single crystal shows the following stages: the stage (I);
easy glide region, the stage (II); linear work hardening
region, i.e., constant work hardening rate, independent of
straining, and then, the stage (III); dynamic recovery region
exhibiting parabolic stress-strain curve. In the case of the
FCC poly crystal, the stage (I) easy glide region disappears
and the stage (II) linear work hardening region appears from
the beginning of straining, followed by the stage (III)
parabolic work hardening region to fracture. However, as
seen in the gures, the work-hardening rates of Hi Cr- & Hi
N- Co-Cr-Mo alloy rapidly increase with increasing stress to
fracture and do not show constant work hardening rate,
normally appearing in FCC metals and alloys. This is due to
the fact that the dislocation structures of the present alloy are
widely dissociated into Shockley partials as described later in
detail, so that the cross slip event for dynamic recovery is
40
Diffraction angle, 2
573K
773K
873K
973K
1073K
1173K
1373K
(
2
0
0
)
(
2
2
0
)
(
1
1
1
)
After heat treatment
Before heat treatment
80 70 60 50

W.Q.
W.Q.
W.Q.
W.Q.
W.Q.
W.Q.
W.Q.

I
n
t
e
n
s
i
t
y

(
a
r
b
i
t
.

u
n
i
t
)
Fig. 3 X-ray diraction patterns of the Co-Cr-Mo alloy before and after
the heat treatment, and quenched into water just after reaching the
predetermined temperature.
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00
True strain,
t
1173K
1373K
973K
R.T.
773K
573K
873K
1073K

T
r
u
e

s
t
r
e
s
s
,

/

M
P
a
t

Strain rate : 1.0 10

1 1
s
Fig. 4 True stress- true strain curves of the Co-Cr-Mo alloy at temperatures
from room temperature to 1373 K at a strain rate of 1.0 10
1
s
1
.
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00
True strain,
t
1173K
1373K
973K
R.T.
773K
573K
873K
1073K
T
r
u
e

s
t
r
e
s
s
,

/

M
P
a
t

Strain rate : 1.4 10

4 1
s
Fig. 5 True stress- true strain curves of the Co-Cr-Mo alloy at temperatures
from room temperature to 1373 K at a strain rate of 1.4 10
4
s
1
.
Mechanical Properties of Biomedical Co-33Cr-5Mo-0.3N Alloy at Elevated Temperatures 1965
hard to occur. Further point to note is that the curves of the
work-hardening rates do not intersect the line of do
t
,dc
t
o
t
to fracture, indicating that the present alloy deforms by the
uniform elongation to fracture.
3.4 Fractography and TEM observations
Figure 8(a) and (b) shows the fractured surfaces after
tensile tests at a strain rate of 1.0 10
1
s
1
at 1073 and
1173 K, respectively. As seen in the gures, the fractured
surface of the specimen exhibiting elongation of 55%
(Fig. 8(a)) shows the dimple patterns typically observed in
the ductile fracture, whereas that of the specimen exhibiting
elongation of 30% (Fig. 8(b)) shows the intergranular
fractured surfaces. Similarly, Figs. 8(c) and (d) shows the
fractured surfaces after tensile tests at a strain rate of
1.4 10
4
s
1
at 773 and 873 K, respectively. The fractured
surfaces indicate the same tendency as those at a strain rate of
1.0 10
1
s
1
: the fractured surface exhibiting elongation of
54% (Fig. 8(c)) shows the dimple patterns, whereas that
exhibiting elongation of 29% (Fig. 8(d)) shows the intergra-
nular fracture. Although the fractographs taken under other
conditions are not shown in this paper, it is found that the
reduction of ductility at higher temperatures is caused by
transition of the fracture mode from intragranular to
intergranular. According to previous literatures,
1113)
the
segregation of harmful impurities in several dozens of ppm
such as sulfur causes for the interglanular fracture. Thus it is
plausible idea that a small amount of impurities such as sulfur
segregate to the grain boundaries at elevated temperatures,
resulting in weakening the cohesive strength of the grain
boundaries.
TEM micrographs of the specimens tensile-deformed by
20% at a strain rate of 1.0 10
1
s
1
at 773 and 873 K are
shown in Fig. 9(a) and (b), respectively. In the two gures,
the dislocations with the primary slip system are widely
dissociated into Shockley partials bounding the stacking
faults. This dislocation structure is associated with the high
work hardening rate because of the suppression of the cross
slip for dynamic recovery, as observed in Fig. 7. TEM
micrographs taken from the specimens tensile-deformed by
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
200
Temperature, T / K
0
.
2
%

p
r
o
o
f

s
t
r
e
s
s
,
/

M
P
a

T
e
n
s
i
l
e

s
t
r
e
n
g
t
h
,
/

M
P
a

E
l
o
n
g
a
t
i
o
n

(
%
)
Strain rate : 1.0 10
1
s
1
Strain rate : 1.4 10
4
s
1
(a)
Serrated region
:1.410
4
s
1
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Temperature, T / K
(b)
Serrated region
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Temperature, T / K
(c)
Serrated region
1400 1200 1000 800 600 400
200 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400
200 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400

:1.410
4
s
1

:1.0 10
1
s
1

:1.0 10
1
s
1

:1.010
1
s
1

:1.410
4
s
1

Strain rate : 1.0 10

1
s
1
Strain rate : 1.4 10
4
s
1
Strain rate : 1.0 10
1
s
1
Strain rate : 1.4 10
4
s
1
Fig. 6 Temperature dependences of (a) the 0.2% proof stress, (b) the
tensile strength and (c) the elongation for the Co-Cr-Mo alloy.
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
0
True stress,
W
o
r
k

h
a
r
d
e
n
i
n
g

r
a
t
e

W
o
r
k

h
a
r
d
e
n
i
n
g

r
a
t
e

298K
573K
873K
773K
973K
1073K
1173K
1373K
d
(a)
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
298K
573K
873K
773K
973K
1073K
1173K
1373K
(b)
Strain rate : 1.0 10
1
s
1
1500 1200 900 600 300
0 1500 1200 900 600 300
/d =
Strain rate : 1.4 10
4
s
1
/MPa
True stress, / MPa
d /d =
Fig. 7 Variation in the work hardening rate of the Co-Cr-Mo alloy with
true stress at (a) a strain rate of 1.0 10
1
s
1
and (b) a strain rate of
1.4 10
4
s
1
.
1966 T. Odahara, H. Matsumoto and A. Chiba
20% at a strain rate of 1.0 10
4
s
1
at room temperature
and at 773 K are shown in Fig. 9(c) and (d), respectively.
Widely dissociated dislocations with fringe contrasts asso-
ciated with stacking faults are observed in both gures. This
shows that the stacking fault energy of the present alloy is
small even at elevated temperatures.
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
20 m
20 m 20 m
20 m
Fig. 8 Fractured surfaces of the Co-Cr-Mo alloy after tensile tests at (a) 1.0 10
1
s
1
at 1073 K, (b) 1.0 10
1
s
1
at 1173 K,
(c) 1.4 10
4
s
1
at 773 K and (d) 1.4 10
4
s
1
at 873 K.
(a)
g=<111>
T
e
n
s
i
l
e

D
i
r
e
c
t
i
o
n
(b)
g=<111>
T
e
n
s
i
l
e

D
i
r
e
c
t
i
o
n
(d)
T
e
n
s
i
l
e

D
i
r
e
c
t
i
o
n
(c)
T
e
n
s
i
l
e

D
i
r
e
c
t
i
o
n
BD=<011> BD=<011>
BD=<011> BD=<011>
g=<111> g=<111>
1 m 1 m
1 m 1 m
Fig. 9 TEM micrographs of the Co-Cr-Mo alloy deformed by 20% at (a) 1.0 10
1
s
1
at 773 K, (b) 1.0 10
1
s
1
at 873 K,
(c) 1.4 10
1
s
4
at 298 K and (d) 1.4 10
4
s
1
at 773 K.
Mechanical Properties of Biomedical Co-33Cr-5Mo-0.3N Alloy at Elevated Temperatures 1967
4. Discussion
4.1 Change in fracture mode at elevated temperatures
As mentioned above, the elongation of Hi Cr- & Hi N- Co-
Cr-Mo alloy increases up to 55% at intermediate temper-
atures and decreases abruptly at higher temperatures. The
fractography shows that the decrease of the elongation at
higher temperatures is caused by the intergranular fracture,
possibly resulting from the impurity segregation to the grain
boundaries at elevated temperatures. These results are
summarized in Fig. 10 constructed from the vertical axis of
strain rate and horizontal axis of temperature. In the gure,
the symbols and correspond to the intragranular fracture
and the symbol the intergranular fracture. Of intragranular
fracture, the symbol is associated with large elongation at
intermediate temperatures. The arrow marks indicate the
region of the serrated ow. It is found from the gure that the
ductility of the present alloy depends on strain rate and
temperature. The intergranular fracture at a low strain rate
occurs at lower temperatures. On the contrary, the intergra-
nular fracture at a high strain rate occurs at higher temper-
atures. If the cause for the intergranular fracture comes from
the segregation of harmful elements such as sulfur, the
diusion of the impurity elements to the grain boundaries
takes time. Thus it can be considered that the segregation of
the impurity elements to the grain boundaries is facilitated
during the tensile-tests at lower strain rates where the
sucient time for diusion to the grain boundaries is
attained. In addition, it should be noted that the temperature
range exhibiting the serrated ow at a high strain rate is
shifted to lower temperatures at a low strain rate. The serrated
ow is thought to be related to the dislocation-solute
interaction, so-called, dynamic strain aging (DSA).
4.2 Large elongation at intermediate temperatures
In the case of a Cu alloy, it is well know that the elongation
decreases abruptly at intermediate temperatures, called
Intermediate temperature embrittlement or Ductile-
brittle-ductile transition in the fracture mode. It has been
reported that the causes for Intermediate temperature
embrittlement are the segregation of solute atoms and
impurities to the grain boundaries or etc.
1315)
Meanwhile, as
noted above, the elongation of Hi Cr- & Hi N- Co-Cr-Mo
alloy increases at intermediate temperatures depending on
strain rates. As stated in Fig. 3, the change of the micro-
structure during heating does not occurs so that the enhance-
ment of the elongation at intermediate temperatures is not
related to the microstructure.
In Fig. 10, the temperature ranges where the serrations on
the stress-strain curves appear are indicated by the arrows. It
is found that the elongation is enhanced in a serrated region
with exception for the intergranular fracture mode. Thus it
can be considered that a serration on the stress-strain curve is
related to large elongation. It is reported that a serration
originates from the deformation twinning, the strain-induced
martensite or DSA.
7)
In the case of the present alloy, as was
previously mentioned, it is considered that a serration leading
to large elongation results from DSA.
The 0.2% proof stresses at temperatures from room
temperature to 1373 K are illustrated as a function of strain
rate in Fig. 11. The strain rate sensitivity, m d ln o
t
,d ln _ cc,
of the 0.2% proof stress are shown as a function of
temperature in Fig. 12. In most materials, the 0.2% proof
stress increases with increasing strain rate.
16,17)
However, as
seen in Fig. 11, the 0.2% proof stress of the present alloy
does not increase with increasing strain rate at intermediate
temperatures, 973 to 1173 K, where the serrations on the
stress-strain curves appear and the m values exhibit negative
ones as demonstrated in Fig. 12. The inverted strain rate
dependence of the 0.2% proof stress and the negative m
values are obvious indication of DSA as was pointed out by
previous investigations.
1820)
In addition, it has been reported
that the plateau in the yield stresstemperature diagram
and the hump in the tensile strengthtemperature diagram
appear in the temperature range where DSA occurs.
21)
In the
case of the present alloy, the plateau and the hump in the
diagram are observed in the temperature range where the
serrations appear as shown in Fig. 6. For those reasons, it is
thought that a serration leading to large elongation results
from DSA.
200
Temperature, T / K
S
t
r
a
i
n

r
a
t
e
,
/

s

:Intragranular fracture
:Intragranular fracture (large elongation)
:Intergranular fracture
Serrated region
Serrated region
10
1
10
4
1400 1200 1000 800 600 400
Fig. 10 Summary of the tensile-tests and fractography of the Co-Cr-Mo
alloy.
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
0.00001
:298K
:573K
:773K
:873K
:973K
:1073K
:1173K
:1373K
10 0.1 0.001
0
.
2
%

p
r
o
o
f

s
t
r
e
s
s
,
/

M
P
a

Strain rate, / s
1
Fig. 11 0.2% proof stress of the Co-Cr-Mo alloy as a function of strain
rate.
1968 T. Odahara, H. Matsumoto and A. Chiba
It has been considered that DSA causes small elonga-
tion.
20,22)
As demonstrated in the present study, however,
DSA in the present alloy results in large elongation. The
typical DSA generating in Fe alloy containing Cr and C is
related to the elastic interaction between solute atoms, Cr and
C, and edge dislocation core.
23)
In the alloy system, the
elongation is limited in DSA range.
24)
On the other hand, in
the present alloy, the DSA is associated with interaction
between solute atoms and widely dissociated dislocations at
intermediate temperatures. Thus it can be assumed that the
interaction in the present alloy is not elastic but chemical one
between solute atoms and stacking faults bounded by the
partial dislocations. Therefore, the chemical interaction
between solute atoms and the stacking faults bounded by
the partial dislocations would be responsible for the large
elongation observed in the DSA region in the present alloy.
However, the further study is needed to explain the enhance-
ment in elongation in DSA region in the present alloy on the
basis of the dislocation mechanisms.
5. Conclusions
In present study, mechanical properties of a biomedical
Hi Cr- & Hi N- Co-Cr-Mo (Co-33Cr-5Mo-0.3N) alloy at
elevated temperatures were investigated. The obtained
results are summarized as follows:
(1) The elongation to fracture exhibits 55% at intermediate
temperatures, depending on strain rate; the conditions
where the elongation is enhanced are at 973 K at a strain
rate of 1.0 10
1
s
1
and at 773 K at a strain rate of
1.4 10
4
s
1
.
(2) The abrupt reduction of the ductility at higher temper-
atures is due to the transition of the fracture mode from
intragranular to intergranular, possibly resulting from
the impurity segregation to the grain boundaries at
elevated temperatures.
(3) The work-hardening rates rapidly increase with in-
creasing stress to fracture and do not show constant
work hardening rate, normally appearing in the FCC
metal and alloy, which is brought about by the widely
dissociated dislocations.
(4) The serrations on the stress-strain curves depend on
strain rate and temperature. The elongation is enhanced
in the temperature range exhibiting the serrated ow
with exception for the intergranular fracture mode.
(5) It can be said that a serration results from the dynamic
strain aging because of the inverted strain rate depend-
ence and the negative strain rate sensitivity values of the
0.2% proof stress. It is likely that the enhancement of
the elongation at intermediate temperatures is related
to the dynamic strain aging.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank to Mr. Yuji Maekawa and
Mr. Toshiyuki Okubo of Kamaishi Otsuchi Industrial
Research Development and Training Center for the sample
preparations. Thanks are due to Dr. Sang-Hak Lee of NHK
spring co., ltd., Japan, for the technical supports. This
research was supported by a Cooperation of Innovative
Technology and Advanced Research in Evolutional Area
from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology of Japan.
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0.05
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
200
Temperature, T / K
S
t
r
a
i
n

r
a
t
e

s
e
n
s
i
t
i
v
i
t
y

m
Serrated region

1400 1200 1000 800 600 400

:1.0 10
1
s
1
:1.4 10
4
s

1
Fig. 12 Variation of strain rate sensitivity of the Co-Cr-Mo alloy with
temperature.
Mechanical Properties of Biomedical Co-33Cr-5Mo-0.3N Alloy at Elevated Temperatures 1969