Tribological Characterization of the ASTM F138 Austenitic Stainless-Steel Treated with Nanosecond Optical Fiber Ytterbium Laser for Biomedical Applications

This study investigated the tribological behavior of the ASTM F138 austenitic stainless-steel – which is generally used in biomedical applications – treated with laser. Metallic biomaterial surfaces were treated under different nanosecond optical fiber ytterbium laser pulse frequencies, with the purpose to increase their surface hardness. Further, ball-cratering wear tests were conducted to analyze their tribological behavior on the basis of their wear volume and coefficient of friction. The obtained results showed that the nanosecond optical fiber ytterbium laser pulse frequency influenced the surface hardness of each specimen and, consequently, on the wear resistance of the ASTM F138 austenitic stainless-steel biomaterial. With an increase of laser pulse frequency, a decrease in the wear volume of the worn biomaterial was observed – which is the main tribological parameter to study the wear resistance of a metallic biomaterial. In contrast, the coefficient of friction values were found to be independent of the laser pulse frequency, surface hardness and the wear volume of the specimen.