Corrosion behavior on cerclage-wire joining using laser welding

The aim of this study is to investigate the pitting corrosion behavior on cerclage wire under the effect of Nd:YAG laser welding. The application of a modern surgical procedure for the femoral treatment is a target for contribution. A stainless steel wire 316L according to ASTM F 138 (UNS S31673) with a diameter of 1.5 mm as a surgical implant of the orthopedic surgeon was used in this experiment. The charge voltage, multi – frequency, and width of the laser pulse are the studied variables. The corrosion testing was conducted by using electrochemical test in 9 g/L NaCl solution at 37±1°C which was evaluated by potentiodynamic polarization. Effect of heat input was discussed on corrosion behavior. It was found that using the high value of the laser parameters, which have a high heat input delivered to a cerclage wire, resulted in increasing of corrosion current density icorr and corrosion potential Ecorr. The lowest heat input of 17.09 J/cm or the combination of the charge voltage of 80 volts, pulse– frequency of 6 Hz and the pulse width of 1.5 ms provided high efficiency pitting corrosion resistance in this study.