Finite element modelling of iron corrosion behavior

09/28/2021

Nowadays bone damages are increasing due to the ageing population and to diseases like osteoporosis. To repair these injuries an implant must be introduced, permanently or temporarily. When using bio-inert metals in implants, a second surgery could be needed, exposing the host body to a new surgery. For that reason, biodegradable materials that can degrade in the human body are being researched to be used in these occasions. Among biodegradable metals, pure iron is one good candidate, although the higher stiffness when compared to bone and the slow degradation are undesirable. Using porosity and topology optimization on iron parts may increase its performance as bone implants. Consequently, mechanical characterization and corrosion tests must be done to certify that improving. In this work, Finite Element Analysis (FEA) software COMSOL was used to compute the corrosion behaviour of iron. Models were calibrated and validated with experimental results previously obtained by Salama et al. (2021). Four different calibrated models were developed, later used on porous iron specimens, being verified that the mass loss in the numerical results was always slightly higher than in the experimental results, with the deviations being greater when the test corrosion period was longer. It was concluded that more complex models needed to be developed, to accurately predict the corrosion rates in the specimens. However, the simulation data gathered in this work can be further applied, for example, on the analysis of porous specimens with complex geometries.

Authors in the community:

• 

  P

  Pedro Manuel Neto Neves

  ist425626

Supervisors of this institution:

• 

  M

  Maria de Fátima Reis Vaz

  ist12459

• 

  M

  Maria Beatriz Cipriano de Jesus Silva

  ist14189

mechanical-engineering - Mechanical engineering

eng - English

Instituto Superior Técnico