Xiebin Wang

R-phase transformation in NiTi alloys

Abstract In near equiatomic NiTi alloys, the thermoelastic transformation between austenite and the R-phase shows unique properties, which make the R-phase transformation very promising for applications. In the present paper, the fundamental issues related to the R-phase transformation, especially the effects of different thermomechanical treatments, are reviewed. Inspired by the literature review, recent work on controlling the R-phase transformation temperature by low temperature aging treatments is summarised.

Fundamental Development on Utilizing the R-phase Transformation in NiTi Shape Memory Alloys

In near equiatomic NiTi alloys, the reversible thermoelastic transformation between B2-structured austenite phase and the R-phase is attracting increasing interest for practical applications. However, the following two issues limit the widespread utilization of the R-phase transformation: (1) there is no effective approach to control the R-phase transformation temperatures; (2) it is not easy to largely separate the temperature domain of the R-phase and the B19′ martensite phase transformation, especially in the presence of an external force. This article reviews concisely the work of the present authors on solving the above two problems. The effect of grain size on the aging microstructure and related transformation behavior is first discussed. Inspired by these findings, an approach to solve the above two problems has been developed by introducing nanoscaled Ni4Ti3 precipitates in the samples with micron-sized grains. The performance of alloys associated with the R-phase transformation, which shows controllable transformation temperatures, is summarized.

Ni cluster formation in low temperature annealed Ni50.6Ti49.4

Various low temperature treatments of Ni50.6Ti49.4 have shown an unexpected effect on the martensitic start temperature. Periodic diffuse intensity distributions in reciprocal space indicate the formation of short pure Ni strings along the 〈111〉 directions in the B2 ordered lattice, precursing the formation of Ni4Ti3 precipitates formed at higher annealing temperatures.

Multi-stage martensitic transformation in Ni-rich NiTi shape memory alloys

Precipitation hardening is an effective way to improve the functional stability of NiTi shape memory alloys. The precipitates, mainly Ni4Ti3, could be introduced by aging treatment in Ni-rich NiTi ...

Effect of Annealing on the Transformation Behavior and Mechanical Properties of Two Nanostructured Ti-50.8at.%Ni Thin Wires Produced by Different Methods

A Ti-50.8at.%Ni wire produced using a co-drawing method and a commercial Ti-50.8at.%Ni wire were annealed between 450°C and 700°C. Grains with diameter less than 100nm were revealed by TEM for both wires before annealing treatment. However, the microstructural heterogeneity of the co-drawn wire is more obvious than that of the commercial wire. The transformation behavior and mechanical properties of both wires were found to be sensitive to the annealing temperature. Multi-stage martensitic transformation was observed in the co-drawn wire, compared with the one-stage A↔M transformation in the commercial wire after annealing at 600°C for 30min. Moreover, the ultimate tensile stress and plateau stress of the commercial wire were found to be higher than that of the co-drawn wire under the same annealing conditions. The differences of total elongation, plateau strain and pseudoelastic recoverable strain between the commercial wire and the co-drawn wire were also observed. The differences of the transformation behavior and mechanical properties between the commercial wire and the co-drawn wire are attributed to the microstructural difference between these two wires.

A Short Review on the Microstructure, Transformation Behavior and Functional Properties of NiTi Shape Memory Alloys Fabricated by Selective Laser Melting

Due to unique functional and mechanical properties, NiTi shape memory alloys are one of the most promising metallic functional materials. However, the poor workability limits the extensive utilization of NiTi alloys as components of complex shapes. The emerging additive manufacturing techniques provide high degrees of freedom to fabricate complex structures. A freeform fabrication of complex structures by additive manufacturing combined with the unique functional properties (e.g., shape memory effect and superelasticity) provide great potential for material and structure design, and thus should lead to numerous applications. In this review, the unique microstructure that is generated by selective laser melting (SLM) is discussed first. Afterwards, the previously reported transformation behavior and mechanical properties of NiTi alloys produced under various SLM conditions are summarized.