Variations in the compression strength of cylindrical samples made of dense hydroxyapatite

Abstract

Dense bioceramics made of pure hydroxyapatite (HA) was prepared and characterized. The cylindrical samples were compacted from HA powders of diverse pretreatments; namely, from spray-dried HA, calcined HA and mixtures thereof. The samples were prepared by a hydraulic press under different compaction loads both with and without auxiliary compounds (a binder and a lubricant). Both the total mass and geometrical dimensions of the prepared cylinders were measured. Then, the cylindrical samples were sintered at 1200 degrees C for 4 hours. After cooling down to ambient temperature, the sintered cylinders were weighed and their geometrical dimensions were measured once again. Mass decreasing and the shrinkage degree were calculated as a result. Afterwards, the compression strength of the sintered cylinders was measured by an Instron 5587 machine. Preparation of dense HA bioceramics possessing the highest possible compression strength was the purpose of this study. The necessary processing parameters were discovered.