Effect of casting speed on microstructure, corrosion behaviour and in vivo bone reaction of Mg-rare earth alloys

In this study, two casting speeds of 10 and 30 r/min were used in vertical twin-roll casting (TRC) to obtain Mg-rare earth (Mg-RE) alloys, and their microstructures, corrosion behaviours and in vivo bone reactions were investigated in detail. The results indicated that the roll-castings of TRC-30 r/min exhibited a finer grain size and higher volume fraction of non-crystallization than those in castings of TRC-10 r/min. Moreover, the results of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization indicated that the castings of TRC-30 r/min displayed a higher corrosion resistance compared with those in the castings of TRC-10 r/min. Animal tests showed that a higher degree of newly formed bone tissues was achieved by implants of TRC-30 r/min. Additionally, in vivo tests displayed that degradation properties of the TRC-30-r/min implants were better than those of the TRC-10-r/min implants; furthermore, the degradation layer was a two-layer structure, and P and Ca were enriched in the outer degradation layer. In summary, these findings elucidated that casting speed has a substantial effect on the microstructure and degradation property of Mg-based implants, and the degradation property performs better with increased casting speed.