Ben Li Luan
Adjunct Professor
Senior Research Officer - National Research Council
B.Sc. Beijing University of Science & Technology
Ph.D. University of Wollongong
Phone: (519) 430-7043
Electrochemistry and Surface Modifications
Current Research Programs:
Biomaterials and Surfaces
The prevalence of thigh pain after total hip replacement remains an unacceptable complaint by some patients.
The pain can be attributed to a number of factors including: unstable fibrous fixation, differences in the
degree of elasticity for the prosthesis material and bone, fatigue fracture, relative motion across the
interface between the implants and the surrounding tissues due to excessive stress at the implant/body tissue
interfaces, and irritation within the bone or cartilage.
My research focus is represented by two multi-year national and international collaborative research grants.
The research activities include the formation of new nanocomposites to improve biomechanical compatibility,
new processes for hydroxyapatite coating to enhance the biochemical compatibility, and formation of
nano-grain sized biocompatible surface and subsurface on Ti6Al4V orthopaedic implant. The development
is expected to produce a new hip prosthesis with improved biomedical performance, enhanced biocompatibility,
and the incorporation of therapeutic features.
Ongoing Research:
Chemo-biomimetic nano grain sized hydroxyapatite coating on new composite biomaterials for hip prosthesis;
Formation of functionally gradient grain size refined biocompatible layer on Ti6Al4V medical implant
Coating of Lightweight Materials
With the global commitment to reduce the vehicular mass so as to reduce greenhouse gas emission,
it is viable to use lightweight materials for the fabrication of vehicular components. Application
of magnesium, the lightest structural metal with the highest specific strength, is regarded as the most
effective way to achieve the goal. Unfortunately, magnesium has a number of undesirable properties
including poor corrosion and wear resistance that hindered its applications particularly in outdoor
environments. One of the most effective ways to prevent corrosion is to coat the base material.
The coating applied prevents the direct contact of magnesium with corrosive and wear environment.
My research in this area is, in part, supported by an NSERC Discovery Grant with efforts in both
process development and fundamental kinetic studies.
Ongoing Research: Coating of magnesium alloys for automotive applications
Selected Publications:
Lianxi Yang, B. Luan, Woo-Jae Cheong, David Shoesmith, Sono-immersion coating of magnesium alloy, 2004
(J. Electrochemical Society, 2004).
Ben Luan, Xing Yang Liu, John Nagata, Woo-Jae Cheong, Residual stress analysis –
an important consideration for coating of Stereolithography polymers,
Surface and Coatings Technologies, 2004.
Ben Luan, Tung Le, John Nagata, “An investigation on the coating of 3003 aluminum alloy,”
Surface and Coatings Technology, 2004.
W-J. Cheong, Ben Luan, David Shoesmith, The effects of stabilizers of the bath stability of electroless Ni
deposition and the deposit", Applied Surface Science, 2004.
H. Ye, X.Y. Liu and B. Luan , In-situ synthesis of AlN particles in Mg-Al alloy by Mg3N2
additions J. of Materials Letters, 58 (2004) 2361-2364.
