Ti6Al4V alloy has been considered as a key component used in ultrasonic scalpels. In this series of papers, the fabrication, structure, and mechanical and ultrasonic properties of medical Ti6Al4V alloys suitable for ultrasonic scalpel are studied systemically. These alloys with low elastic modulus and present a typical bimodal microstructure with relatively high β phase content (~40%) and lamellar α thickness of ≤ 0.9 µm. In the first paper, the relationship between the microstructure and mechanical properties of hot-rolled Ti6Al4V alloys treated by heating treatment is discussed. In the second paper, the dependence of the ultrasonic properties on the microstructure of the heat-treated Ti6Al4V alloys is reported. With increasing solid solution temperature, the content and size of the primary α phase decrease. In contrast, the content and size of the lamellar α phase increase. Additionally, the β phase content first increases and then decreases. The microstructure of Ti6Al4V alloys could be slightly changed by aging treatment. When the solid solution treatment temperature increases to 980 °C from 960 °C, the average size of the lamellar α phase in the alloys increases by 1.1 µm. This results in a decrease in the average yield strength (93 MPa). The elastic modulus of alloys is mainly controlled by the β phase content. The microstructure of alloys by solution-treatment at 960 °C shows the highest β phase content and lowest average elastic modulus of 99.69 GPa, resulting in the minimum resonant frequency (55.06 kHz) and the highest average amplitude (21.48 µm) of the alloys at the length of 41.25 mm.

In this study, the ultrasonic resonance parameters of Ti6Al4V alloys under different heat treatments are measured by an impedance analyzer. The amplitude of the specimens is measured experimentally by means of optical microscope and image analysis software. These results show that the ultrasonic properties of Ti6Al4V alloys are closely related to β phase content and elastic modulus of the alloys. The highest volume fraction of the β phase appears in the specimen treated by solid solution treatment at 960 °C is 40.2%. These alloys present the lowest average elastic modulus (~99.69 GPa) and the minimum resonant frequency (55.06 kHz) and the highest average amplitude (21.48 µm) when the testing sample length is 41.25 mm. These findings can be used to guide the design of medical Ti6Al4V alloys for ultrasonic scalpels.

Fe-Cu-Co prealloyed powder is used for bonding metal of diamond tools. In order to obtain diamond tools with good mechanical properties by pressureless sintering, it is necessary to add Cu-Sn sintering aids. The substrate also has high corrosion resistance requirements, which is conducive to the chemical erosion of diamond tools. This paper mainly studies the effects of Cu-Sn on the corrosion behavior of pressureless sintered Fe-Cu-Co substrate. The results show that the linear contraction rate and relative density of pressureless sintered Fe-Cu-Co alloy at 875 °C reach their peak when the Cu-Sn content is 8 wt.%, 15.13% and 97.5%, respectively. The substrate is mainly composed of α-Fe and Cu-rich phases, and selective corrosion occurs during electrochemical corrosion; namely, α-Fe grains are more prone to corrosion than Cu-rich grains to form porous corrosion surfaces. With the increase in Cu-Sn addition, the volume fraction of the Cu-rich phase increases, the corrosion current density and the passive current density gradually decrease, and the corrosion resistance of the alloy is improved. The amount and integrity of anodic passive film on the Fe-Cu-Co surface increases with the increase in Cu-Sn addition. The oxygen content of the anodic passivation film is lower than that of the active corrosion products of the α-Fe phase, thus reducing the oxygen concentration gradient and slowing down the corrosion. The addition of Cu-Sn is conducive to improving the corrosion resistance of Fe-Cu-Co alloy as the substrate of diamond tools.

Fe-Cr-B-C wear-resistant coating was prepared by atmosphere plasma spraying. The effects of the spraying current, main gas flow, secondary gas flow, and spraying distance on the microstructure, hardness, and bonding strength of the coating were studied. The results show that the cross-section of the coating is a typical lamellar structure. There are unmelted particles with high hardness in the Fe-Cr-B-C coating, and the hard phase particles are spherical and dispersed. As a result, the microhardness of the Fe-Cr-B-C coating is relatively uniform, within the range of 820~860 HV_0.1. Spraying process parameters significantly affect the bonding strength of the coating, but have little effect on the microhardness. The matrix of the coating is an α-Fe phase and the hard phase is mainly a (Fe, Cr)₂(B, C) phase and a (Fe, Cr)₃(B, C) phase. Due to the spheroidized coating structure, the wear rate of the FeCrBC coating is only 0.62 × 10⁻⁵ mm³/Nm, which is 51% of the 304 stainless steel. The wear mechanism of the Fe-Cr-B-C coating is mainly abrasive wear and fatigue wear.