Human Body-friendly Metal – Ti6Al7Nb

What is Ti6Al7Nb

Ti6Al7Nb is a kind of α-β type titanium alloy metal, also called titanium aluminum niobium alloy. It is an alloy composed of titanium as the base material, about 6% aluminum, about 7% niobium and some other trace impurities.

It’s designed for medical implant material. It has high corrosion resistance, biocompatibility, high hardness and low elastic modulus.

In the 1980s, the Swiss Sulzer company made out it, for instead of element V. It’s no toxicity, more safe for the human body, but kept Ti6Al4V materials’ mechanical properties.

The Standards of Ti6Al7Nb

Standard system	Grade	Applicable Fields
China (GB)	TC 20	Medical implant/Aerospace
American (ASTM)	ASTM F1295 / UNS R56700	Surgical implant
International (ISO)	ISO 5832-11	Medical Metal Material

 

The Elements of Ti6Al7Nb

Elements	Content (WT%)	Works
Ti	balance	Basic material
Al	5.5–6.5	Stabilize the α phase
Nb	6.5–7.5	Instead of element V
O	≤0.20	Eli elements, effect shape
Fe/C/N	≤0.25/≤0.08/≤0.05	Impurities control
H	≤0.009	Prevent hydrogen embrittlement

 

The Mechanical Properties of Ti6Al7Nb

Performance Indicators	Typical Value
Tensile strength (MPa)	900–1050
Yield strength (MPa)	800–950
Elongation rate (%)	≥10
Elastic modulus (G Pa)	110–120
Hardness(HV)	300–350
Fatigue limit (MPa)	500–600（10⁷ cycles）

 

Key Properties of Ti6Al7Nb

Biocompatibility

It doesn’t have the element toxicity for human body like V, the Nb element joining further improved corrosion resistance and biocompatibility.

Mechanical Properties

High strength, low density and high fatigue resistance.

Corrosion Resistance

Strong antioxidant capacity; high stability in high temperatures and body fluids.

Ti6al7nb Applications

Medical Applications

Orthopedic Implants

Hip and knee replacements

Bone plates and screws

Dental Implants

Crowns, bridges, and root implants

Cardiovascular Devices

Stents and pacemaker casings

Aerospace Applications

Ti6Al7Nb as a kind of high-strength, corrosion-resistant, and lightweight α-β type metal, not only has great performance at the biomedical field, it also has an important value in the aerospace field. Like engine and propulsion system components, spacecraft structural components, and aircraft fuselage and landing gear, etc.

Advantages Over Other Implant Materials

Ti6Al7Nb, Ti6Al4V (Ti6Al4V ELI) and pure titanium; these three kinds of titanium materials have more differences in element content, mechanical properties, biocompatibility and corrosion resistance.

Pure titanium（Ti≥99.5%）biocompatibility is the best, but lowest strength of these three kinds of metals; suitable for non-load-bearing medical implants.

Ti-6Al-4V (Titanium aluminum vanadium alloy Al:5.5-6.75%, V:3.5-4.5%) is the highest strength of these three kinds of metals, but it includes the toxic element V; still suitable for surgical(Ti6Al4V ELI) and aerospace(Ti6Al4V).

Ti-6Al-7Nb (Titanium aluminum niobium alloy Al:5.5-6.5%, Nb:6.5-7.5%), the Nb element instead of the V element, avoids toxicity, at the same time keeping the similar mechanical properties of Ti6Al4V ELI; it’s been gradually instead of Ti6Al4V ELI for medical implants.

Challenges and Future Developments of Ti6Al7Nb

Ti6Al7Nb as the representative of medical titanium alloy, though it has great performance in the orthopedic implant field, still faces some challenges, like hard to machine, high cost and the elastic modulus higher than human bone. But it doesn’t affect the more development, like the 3D painting, the growth of medical market, etc.

Conclusion

Ti6Al7Nb is still in the extension stage of the aerospace application field. The core advantage of mechanical properties other than biocompatibility. In the future it may be through process optimization and bionic design to instead the traditional titanium alloy metal(like Ti6Al4V ELI), the market will be very big in the future.

FAQ

Q: What is the Ti6Al7Nb standard?

A: It has different standards in different countries. China’s standard is TC 20, the American standard is ASTM F1295 / UNS R56700, and the international standard is ISO 5832-11.

Q: What is the Ti6Al7Nb hardness?

A: It’s about 300–350 HV.

Q: What is the Ti6Al7Nb price?

A: Click here to check the different types of Ti6Al7Nb price.

Q: How to choose the Ti6Al7Nb, Ti6Al4V ELI and Ti-13Nb-13Zr?

A: 1. Ti6Al7Nb: It is preferred for long-term orthopedic implants (like artificial joints), with better biocompatibility than Ti6Al4V ELI, high strength and no vanadium toxicity.

2. Ti6Al4V ELI: It is suitable for short-term or medium-short-term implants (like bone screws), with a low cost and mature processing, but need caution because it including Nb element.
3. Ti-13Nb-13Zr: It’s the lowest elastic modulus (~79GPa), close to human bone, making it suitable for young patients or cases where stress shielding needs to be reduced, but its strength is slightly weaker.

We could provide Ti6Al7Nb titanium rod and Ti6Al7Nb titanium sheet, if about any medical titanium, you could consult with us freely.