Comparative study on microstructure and homogeneity of NiTi shape memory alloy produced by copper boat induction melting and conventional vacuum arc melting

A comparative study was carried out on the microstructures of NiTi shape memory alloy produced by two techniques of copper boat induction melting and vacuum arc melting. The as-solidified and homogenized specimens were characterized by optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with EDS, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results showed that the microstructure formed in the copper boat method was free of segregation (Ti or Ni-rich precipitates) with a low scatter (<5 K) in phase transition temperatures within the ingot at different positions. Unlike the multi-stage vacuum arc remelting process, a homogeneous microstructure was achieved only after one melting procedure.     

NiTi形状记忆合金薄膜的制备及形变特性

研究了适用于微器件的溅射态NiTi形状记忆合金薄膜.讨论了溅射工艺及织构对薄膜结构和相变特征的影响.利用薄膜热相变特性制成了微驱动器,观察并分析了该器件的形变特性.结果表明:原位加热溅射可以获得具有织构的晶化薄膜;用该薄膜制备的驱动器回复率为0.76%.     

Mechanical response of nitrogen ion implanted NiTi shape memory alloy

In the paper a change of material (mechanical) parameters of NiTi shape memory alloy subjected to ion implantation treatment is investigated. The spherical indentation tests in micro- and nano-scale and tension test have been performed to study an evolution of local superelastic effect in different volumes of nonimplanted and nitrogen ion implanted NiTi alloy. The differential scanning calorimetry has been applied to measure the change of characteristic temperatures due to ion implantation treatment. The structure of implanted material has been investigated using electron microscopy technique. It has been found that the ion implantation process changes the properties not only in a thin surface layer but also in bulk material. In the layer the pseudoelastic effect is destroyed, and in the substrate is preserved, however its parameters are changed. The characteristic phase transformation temperatures in substrate are also modified.     

Sputter deposition of NiTi thin film shape memory alloy using a heated target

In this paper we present a novel method for depositing NiTi thin film by DC sputtering. The film has transformation temperatures very close to that of the target. The new process involves heating the target and does not require compositional modification of the NiTi target. Results from X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimeter, four-point probe, Rutherford backscattering, and transmission electron microscopy are presented. These results indicate that compositional modification can be produced by varying the target temperature. Films produced from hot targets have compositions similar to the target while films produced from cold targets were Ti deficient. Films that were produced by gradual heating of the target have compositional gradation through the film thickness. The gradated films exhibit the two-way shape memory effect.     

化学修饰对NiTi形状记忆合金氧化膜的影响

用X光电子能谱（XPS）研究了NiTi形状记忆合金经酸、碱处理后表面氧化膜成分和结构的变化。结果表明，未经处理的NiTi合金表面最外层氧化膜主要由TiO2、TiO和少量的Ni组成，酸、碱处理后，最外层氧化膜由TiO2、Ni2O3组成，但经碱处理后，氧化膜的厚度大大增加。     

Grain-size gradient NiTi ribbons with multiple-step shape transition prepared by melt-spinning

A grain-size gradient NiTi ribbon with multiple-step shape transition was papered by means of melt-spinning.The ribbons contain coarse and fine grains in the free surface side and copper roller surface side,respectively.The grain-size gradient microstructure induces a two-stage phase transformation behavior in the ribbons during heating or cooling.After tensile deformation pre-treatment,the ribbons exhibit a back-and-forth shape change (shape A→ B-A) upon a single heating or cooling process,resulting from the sequential phase transformation through the thickness of the ribbon as dictated by gradient grain size.The activating performance of the ribbons,i.e.shape transition amplitude and speed,can be customized by controlling the pre-deformation strain.This work offers a new opportunity for innovative designs to reach a novel shape memory behavior in NiTi alloys conveniently and efficiently.     

Effect of tellurium on machinability and mechanical property of CuAlMnZn shape memory alloy

The microstructure transition, shape memory effect, machinability and mechanical property of the CuAlMnZn alloy with and without Te have been studied using X-ray diffraction analysis, chips observation and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), tensile strength test and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), and semi-quantitative shape memory effect (SME) test. The particles with richer Te dispersedly distributed in grain interior and boundary with size of 2-5 μm. After the addition of Te, the CuAlMnZnTe alloy machinability has been effectively increased to approach that of BZn15-24-1.5 and its shape memory property remains the same as the one of CuAlMnZn alloy. The CuAlMnZn shape memory alloys with and without Te both have good ductility as annealed at 700 °C for 15 min.     

Analysis of the mechanical and shape memory behaviour of nitrogen ion-implanted NiTi alloy

Experimental results of an accumulation and return strain behaviour of the modified surface of NiTi alloy, as well as mechanical and shape memory behaviour, are shown in this paper.Surface of equiatomic NiTi shape memory alloy (in martensitic form) has been modified by high-dose ion-implantation technique using nitrogen ion beam. The low-energy (65 keV) and following high doses have been used: 1×10¹⁷, 5×10¹⁷ and 1×10¹⁸ J/cm². Correlation between subsurface layers elemental composition of NiTi alloy, microstructure and shape memory properties is shown.     

Densification and microstructural evolution of spark plasma sintered NiTi shape memory alloy

The effect of particle size and sintering temperature on the densification and microstructural characteristics of nickel-titanium shape memory alloy (NiTi-SMA) has been investigated using spark plasma sintering (SPS) process. The Ni and Ti elements in different particle sizes were alloyed in the composition of Ni_50.6Ti_49.4. The milled NiTi powders were consolidated using SPS process in a temperature range of 700–900?°C. The densification was characterized by plotting temperature, current and relative displacement of punch as a function of holding time. The results showed that a maximum relative density of ～98% can be achieved for NiTi-SMA with an average particle size of 10?µm at a sintering temperature of 900?°C. The microstructure of the sintered NiTi-SMA was examined using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and composition of NiTi alloy was analyzed using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. The effect of sintering temperature on the microstructural evolution and transformation was also studied.     

NiTi形状记忆合金化学镀CoNiWP薄膜及磁性研究

采用化学镀法在NiTi形状记忆合金基体上镀覆CoNiWP磁性薄膜。用振动磁强计测试了样品的磁性能，结果表明NiTi形状记忆合金外层镀覆的金属薄膜是无定形结构并具有较好的磁性，其矫顽力是随化学镀进程逐渐增大到一定值后再逐渐下降。用扫描电镜表征镀层的形貌，结果表明化学镀开始初期，镀层颗粒比较细致，后来逐渐长大成晶胞状，当镀层完全覆盖基材后，再增加厚度会导致矫顽力下降。     

表面氧化及离子注氮对NiTi形状记忆合金耐腐蚀性能的影响

采用电化学测试的方法，研究了表面氧化以及表面氧化-离子注氮两种表面改性方式对NiTi形状记忆合金在人体生理模拟液(Hank′s溶液)中腐蚀行为的影响。腐蚀电位和极化曲线的测量结果表明表面氧化-离子注氮的方法使NiTi合金材料的腐蚀电位正移。雏钝电流密度下降，钝化电位区间扩大，合金表面耐蚀性明显提高。尤其是NiTi合金在进行氮离子注入后，测得击穿电位显著上升．增强了表面膜的抗局部腐蚀能力。因而表面氧化-离子注氮的改性方法可使材料的耐蚀性达到最佳。通过XPS的分析发现，离子注氮后合金表面形成氮化钛相以及富含羟基的化学效应，使NiTi基体的电化学性能得到提高。     

激光表面改性对NiTi形状记忆合金腐蚀行为的影响

采用连续波Nd：YAG固体激光,在NiTi形状记忆合金表面制备出表面致密、无7L洞和裂纹的氮化层,测试了这种激光改性层在37℃模拟人体体液Hank’s溶液中的电化学阳极极化曲线和交流阻抗谱,研究了改性层的腐蚀行为．结果表明,NiTi合金氮化层的腐蚀电位和击穿电位正移,反应转移电阻明显提高,而腐蚀电流及界面电容下降．这说明激光气体氮化有效地改善了NiTi形状记忆合金在模拟人体体液中的电化学抗腐蚀性能．     

Fabrication and characterization of NiTi shape memory alloy synthesized by Ni electroless plating of titanium powder

In this work NiTi shape memory alloy was fabricated from mixed elemental powders, Ni plated titanium powder and Ni heated/plated titanium powder by Ar-sintering. Electroless plating process was utilized to fabricate Ni plated titanium powder. For this purpose titanium powder was plated in an electroless Ni bath for 225?min and hydrazine hydrate was used as a reductant to deposit pure nickel on the titanium particles. Ni plated titanium powder was heat treated under an argon atmosphere at 1000?°C to prepare Ni heated/plated titanium powder. Finally, the three sample powders were pressed by CIP followed by sintering at 980?°C for 8?h to manufacture NiTi shape memory alloy. The prepared powders, as well as sintered samples, were characterized by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrometer analysis (EDS), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC). The results indicated the presence of NiTi phase and also non-transformable phases (NiTi₂ and Ni₃Ti) in the heated/plated Ti powder and sintered samples. NiTi compound was dominated phase in the heated/plated sintered sample. All three sintered samples, as well as heated/plated powder, showed one-step phase transformation (B2???B19′).     

Non-proportional multiaxial transformation ratchetting of super-elastic NiTi shape memory alloy: Experimental observations

Experimental observations are reported for the non-proportional multiaxial transformation ratchetting of super-elastic NiTi shape memory alloy performed under the stress-controlled cyclic tension–torsion loading conditions and at room temperature. The effect of axial mean stress on the evolutions of transformation ratchetting strain and dissipation energy per cycle during the cyclic tests is discussed firstly; and then the dependence of multiaxial transformation ratchetting on the different non-proportionally loading paths (e.g., linear, square, hourglass-typed, butterfly-typed, rhombic and octagonal paths) is investigated. The results show that the multiaxial transformation ratchetting occurs mainly in the axial direction because only the non-zero axial mean stress is used and the mean shear stress is set to be zero in the all prescribed multiaxial loading paths; and the axial peak and valley strains increase with the increasing axial mean stress and also depend significantly on the shapes of loading paths. Comparison with the corresponding uniaxial ones illustrates that the multiaxial stress states are more helpful to promote the development of transformation ratchetting, especially for the non-proportional ones.     

Nickel-titanium shape memory alloys made by selective laser melting:a review on process optimisation

Selective laser melting (SLM) is a mainstream powder-bed fusion additive manufacturing (AM) process that creates a three-dimensional (3D) object using a high power laser to fuse fine particles of various metallic powders such as copper, tool steel, cobalt chrome, titanium, tungsten, aluminium and stainless steel. Over the past decade, SLM has received significant attention due to its capability in producing dense parts with superior mechanical properties. As a premier shape memory alloy, the nickel-titanium (NiTi) shape memory alloy is attractive for a variety of biomedical applications due to its superior mechanical properties, superelasticity, corrosion resistance and biocompatibility. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the recent progress in NiTi alloys produced by the SLM process, with a particular focus on the relationship between processing parameters, resultant microstructures and properties. Current research gaps, challenges and suggestions for future research are also addressed.The full text can be downloaded at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40436-021-00376-9     

Pulsed laser deposition of NiTi shape memory alloy thin films with optimum parameters

A series of experiments was carried out to optimize the pulsed laser deposition parameters for the fabrication of high quality NiTi shape memory alloy thin films. Smooth NiTi shape memory alloy thin films were deposited at high growth rate with optimum deposition parameters based on the analysis of the relationships among the morphology of the target surface and the deposited thin film, the laser energy, the target–substrate distance, the thin film composition and its growth rate. Crystal structures and phase transformation temperatures of the annealed Ni_49.7Ti_50.3 thin film were characterized by using X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry, respectively. The martensitic transformation temperature of the crystallized Ni_49.7Ti_50.3 thin film is found to be lower than room temperature and 27°C lower than that of the NiTi target material. These results are attributed to the refined grain size of the thin film and its composition, which deviates slightly from Ni₅₀Ti₅₀.     

Fabrication and characteristics of porous NiTi shape memory alloy synthesized by microwave sintering

Porous nickel titanium (NiTi) shape memory alloy (SMA) was successfully fabricated by microwave sintering method. This method allows formation of porous structures without using any pore-forming agents. Moreover, microwave sintering of NiTi SMA can be successfully performed at a relatively low sintering temperature of 850 °C and a short sintering time of 15 min. The pore characteristics, microstructure, phase transformation and stress-strain behavior of the porous NiTi SMA were investigated. The porous NiTi SMA exhibited porosity ratios from 27% to 48% and pore sizes range from 50 to 200 μm when using different sintering temperatures and holding times. The predominant B2 (NiTi) and B19′ (NiTi) phases were identified in the porous NiTi SMA. A multi-step phase transformation took place on heating and a two-step phase transformation took place on cooling of the porous NiTi SMA. The irrecoverable strains decreased with increasing sintering temperature, but the holding time had little effect on the stress-strain behavior at 60 °C.     

TiNi基形状记忆合金的温度记忆效应研究进展

TiNi形状记忆合金经过一次不完全相变循环后将对随后的相变过程产生很大的影响，因此近年来由不完全相变诱发的特殊的温度记忆效应（TemperatureMemory Effect，TME）现象引起人们的关注：如果从马氏体到母相的逆相变在第一次加热过程中在温度瓦处被中断，而后冷却到马氏体相变终了温度以下，在随后的加热过程会出现被一个动力学中断点Ts分开的两阶段逆相变，Ts可“记住”Ti综述了近年来TiNi基形状记忆合佥的TME研究新进展，阐述了具有不同马氏体相变特征的TiNi基记忆合金中TME的特点及其机理。     

Effect of graphite addition on martensitic transformation and damping behavior of NiTi shape memory alloy

In this investigation, the effect of graphite addition on martensitic transformation and damping behavior of Ni₅₀Ti₅₀ (at.%) shape memory alloy has been studied. It is found that martensitic transformation temperature decreases obviously with the addition of graphite. Microstructural observation shows that TiC precipitates and forms whiskers when the carbon content is increased beyond ~ 0.6%. With the increase of graphite content, the damping capacity during reverse transformation increases initially and then decreases while the damping capacity of full martensite is remarkably improved by the addition of graphite particles. It is proposed that the enhancement of damping capacity can be ascribed to the high damping capacity of graphite itself, as well as, the increase of the amount of interface between martensite and austenite can be beneficial to the damping capacity.