Pure iron has been demonstrated as a potential candidate for biodegradable metal stents due to its appropriate biocompatibility, suitable mechanical properties and uniform biodegradation behavior. The competing parameters that control the safety and the performance of BMS include proper strength-ductility combination, biocompatibility along with matching rate of corrosion with healing rate of arteries. Being a micrometre-scale biomedical device, the mentioned variables have been found to be governed by the average grain size of the bulk material. Thermo-mechanical processing techniques of the cold rolling and annealing were used to grain-refine the pure iron. Pure Fe samples were unidirectionally cold rolled and then isochronally annealed at different temperatures with the intention of inducing different ranges of grain size. The effect of thermo-mechanical treatment on mechanical properties and corrosion rates of the samples were investigated, correspondingly. Mechanical properties of pure Fe samples improved significantly with decrease in grain size while the corrosion rate decreased marginally with decrease in the average grain sizes. These findings could lead to the optimization of the properties to attain an adequate biodegradation-strength-ductility balance.

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Although martensitic stainless steel materials are not used in large quantities compared to austenitic and ferritic grades, they play a huge and often unseen part in our modern world due to their combination of strength, toughness and moderate corrosion resistance. However, after welding the martensitic stainless steel tend to lose their mechanical/microstructural integrity. In this study, the microstructures and mechanical properties of a welded AISI 410 martensitic stainless steel after different heat treatments were studied, with aims to restore the hardness and improve grain refinement of the materials. The results show that the structures of the steel after austenitizing treatment at 1020°C are of lath martensite mixed with a small amount of retained austenite. Apart from TP2 specimen, where martensite phase was transformed into ferrite structure, the structures of the tempered steel are mixtures of tempered martensite, carbides and reversed austenite dispersed in the martensite matrix. The result indicated that the tempering regimens (500, 600 and 700°C) carried out improved the hardness and grain refinement leading to the existence of finely distributed carbides in the materials. TheTP3 specimen experienced secondary hardening phenomenon, displays the best comprehensive mechanical properties and has the highest hardness value of 370.7 HV close to the parent metal after tempering at 700 °C.

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