Original Article

Journal of Intelligent Material Systems

and Structures
1–10
Nickel–titanium shape memory alloy Ó The Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/1045389X18799197

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Jackson de Brito Simões1 and Carlos José de Araújo2

Abstract
This work aimed to produce mechanical components of nickel–titanium shape memory alloys using investment casting
processes. Then, in order to validate processing, different designs of nickel–titanium shape memory alloy components as
staple implants, Belleville springs, meshes, helical springs, screws and hexagonal honeycombs were produced and sub-
mitted to thermal and mechanical characterization. Thermoelastic martensitic transformation of the nickel–titanium
shape memory alloy parts was determined by differential scanning calorimetry and electrical resistance with tempera-
ture, while the superelastic behaviour was verified by cyclic tensile and compression tests. It has been demonstrated that
the employed investment casting processes are suitable to manufacture nickel–titanium shape memory alloy mechanical
components with simple and complicated designs as well as functional properties related to phase transformation and
superelasticity.

Keywords
Shape memory alloys, superelasticity, investment casting, nickel–titanium alloys

Introduction inside the melting chamber, with an internal pressure of

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) are special metallic mate-
rials that respond to changes in temperature and
mechanical loading by producing large deformations
(typically from 2% to 10% in uniaxial tensile speci-
mens). Then, these materials are characterized as natu-
ral thermomechanical actuators, capable of executing
mechanical work. The most important family of SMAs
today are those based on nickel–titanium (NiTi) inter-
metallic compounds. As demonstrated by Elahinia
et al. (2012), NiTi is categorized as an SMA that is
found in many engineering applications from the aero-
space to biomedical fields; the latter applications are
due to its biocompatibility in addition to its unique
properties. The unique properties such as the shape
memory effect (SME) and superelasticity (SE) make
NiTi an excellent candidate in many functional designs.
However, the manufacturing and processing complica-
tions of this SMA pose impediments to widespread
applications.
According to Otubo et al. (2003), the usual process
to produce NiTi SMAs is by vacuum induction melting
(VIM) using high-density graphite crucibles to minimize
the carbon contamination of the melt. Carbon is soluble
in liquid nickel and has a great affinity for titanium.
Oxygen contamination comes from residual oxygen
approximately 10 Pa. Frenzel et al. (2007) showed how
carbon affects martensitic transformations in Ni-rich
NiTi SMA. During VIM in graphite crucibles, NiTi
melts dissolve carbon, and TiC particles form during
solidification. The nucleation and growth of TiC parti-
cles in intercellular/interdendritic regions cause varia-
tions in the local Ni/Ti ratios. This results in wider
transformation temperature (TT) intervals (differential
scanning calorimetry (DSC) peak broadening) in as-
cast and solution-annealed microstructures. However,
Frenzel et al. (2004) suggested a method to keep carbon
dissolution into the melt at a minimum. Coda et al.
(2012) affirmed that commercial NiTi alloys are pro-
duced by VIM, vacuum arc melting (VAR) or a hybrid
process where the primary VIM ingot is further refined
using a VAR process (VIM/VAR). In their study using
1
Department of Engineering, Federal Rural University of Semi-Árido
(UFERSA), Caraúbas, Brazil
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Federal University of Campina
Grande (UFCG), Campina Grande, Brazil
Corresponding author:
Carlos José de Araújo, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Federal
University of Campina Grande (UFCG), Rua Aprigio Veloso, 882, Bairro
Universitario, Campina Grande, PB 58429-140, Brazil.
Email: carlos.araujo@ufcg.edu.br
2 Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures 00(0)
VIM/VAR, these authors detected inclusions of tita-
nium carbide TiC(O) with a significant amount of sub-
stitutional oxygen and intermetallic oxide Ti4Ni2O.
Nevertheless, Otubo et al. (2004) found that electron
beam melting (EBM) can be scaled up to produce rela-
tively large ingots of NiTi SMAs with a carbon content
of only 0.013 wt%, which is approximately five times
lower than the values presented by a VIM-processed
ingot.
Once the NiTi SMA ingots are obtained with ade-
quate levels of purity, it is necessary to manufacture the
desired mechanical components. According to Elahinia
et al. (2016), it is a hard task to manufacture NiTi parts
because of the high reactivity and high ductility of the
alloy, which results in difficulties in processing and
machining. These challenges have limited the starting
form of NiTi devices to simple geometries including
rod, wire, bar, tube, sheet and strip. In addition, in a
recent review, Jani et al. (2014) pointed to the need for
the development of new fabrication technologies and
treatment processes for SMA, which are more stable,
are more durable and can be utilized in a broad range
of industries. Therefore, obtaining near net shape NiTi
products in a single processing step is still a technologi-
cal challenge.
Conventional machining processes, which use cut-
ting tools with defined geometry (drills, milling cutters,
turning inserts), present a series of problems that com-
mercially limit the use of machined NiTi SMAs. The
machinability of a Ni50.4Ti49.6 SMA was studied by Wu
et al. (1999) using a mechanical cutting test. There is a
wide hardened layer in front of the cutting edge of the
material that comes from the effects of strain hardening
and cyclic hardening. Meanwhile, Ni50.4Ti49.6 fragments
can adhere on the diamond blade. The longer the cut-
ting time, the greater the fragment adhesion. These fea-
tures cause the NiTi SMA to exhibit more difficult
cutting characteristics than 18–8 stainless steel and
Ti50Al50 alloy. In addition, Lin et al. (2000) found that
the drilling forces for NiTi SMA can exceed 5000 N,
which are higher than those for many commercial
alloys. This feature may arise from the high toughness
and viscosity, as well as the unique pseudoelasticity of
these special metals. Nevertheless, Weinert and Petzoldt
(2004) remarked that remaining problems for turning
NiTi SMA are poor chip breaking and the formation of
burrs that are caused by the remarkable high ductility
of these materials.
According to Guo et al. (2013), the very short tool
life and poor surface cutting finish of NiTi require
alternative competitive processes. Since electrical dis-
charge machining (EDM) is capable of machining
difficult-to-cut materials regardless of their hardness
and strength, EDM of NiTi can be conducted to
explore the machinability. Chen et al. (2007) found that
a lower discharge current and a shorter pulse duration
should be selected for the precise EDM machining of
NiTiX (X = Cr or Zr) SMA. Daneshmand et al.
(2013) studied the effects of EDM parameters such as
voltage, discharge current, pulse on time and pulse off
time on the rate of material removal, tool wear, relative
electrode wear and surface roughness of NiTi SMAs.
The experiments indicated that the parameters of dis-
charge current, voltage and pulse on time have a direct
impact on material removal rate (MRR), and with their
increase, MRR increases as well. Tool wear rate
(TWR) diminishes with the increase of pulse off time
and discharge current. Analysis of results obtained for
surface roughness indicates that pulse on and off times
have the highest impact on the surface roughness of
NiTi SMAs. According to Theisen and Schuermann
(2004), EDM is a common fabrication process for min-
iaturized components in medical technology and micro-
engineering. As EDM induces material changes in the
near-surface zone, the surface integrity becomes even
more important, and the components are smaller. NiTi
SMA can thus be machined commercially by EDM
processes, using a CuW electrode in a dielectric fluid,
Aralux. Hereby, structural changes in the machined
surface occur, depending on the machining parameters.
Precipitations of titanium carbides in the melting zone
lead to the assumption that the shape memory proper-
ties might have been lost in the heat-affected zone
(HAZ).
On the other hand, Frotscher et al. (2011) reported
that waterjet machining and micromilling can be used
to machine delicate structures, even in very thin NiTi
SMA sheets. However, according to these authors, fur-
ther works are required to optimize the cut quality and
machining speed in order to increase the cost-
effectiveness and to make both methods more competi-
tive. According to Kong et al. (2011), in regard to NiTi
SMA (characterized by low-temperature phase marten-
site and parent phase austenite), the non-significant
waterjet temperatures become critical to the material
behaviour as their crystal structures are sensitive to the
variations in both temperature and mechanical com-
pression. This makes the processing (particularly water-
jet controlled-depth milling) a very challenging task.
These authors found that abrasive waterjetting is more
viable than plain waterjetting for controlled-depth
milling of NiTi SMAs. In a more recent study, Kong
et al. (2013) proved that abrasive waterjet machining, if
optimally conducted, can generate surfaces that can
fulfil the quality requirements (e.g. cut surface: rough-
ness \4 mm; countersunk hole: circularity \0.04 mm,
concentricity \0.15 mm; milled surface: roughness
\5 mm) for use in manufacturing parts for the aero-
space industry.
More recently, as established by Elahinia et al.
(2016), additive manufacturing (AM) techniques have
been implemented for the direct production of complex
NiTi SMAs such as lattice-based and hollow structures
with potential uses in aerospace and medical
de Brito Simões and de Araújo
applications. It is worth noting that due to the rela-
tively higher cost, AM is considered as a supplement
technique to the existing methodology. In that work, a
case study in the form of using AM as a promising
technique to fabricate engineered porous NiTi for the
purpose of creating a building block for medical appli-
cations was introduced. As discussed by Walker et al.
(2014), the great advantages of AM are the production
of parts that are not possible by traditional methods
and the time reduction of the transition concept to the
prototype due to use of metal three-dimensional (3D)
printers. Recently, the Dynamic and Smart Systems
Laboratory at the University of Toledo, USA, with an
investment of approximately US$10 million between
government and companies in the biomedical area,
developed research dedicated to the development and
commercialization of NiTi SMA products using AM
technology. Published results of these surveys are pro-
mising, according to Elahinia et al. (2016), but costs
are very high because it is a new technology.
With regard to the investment casting processes
applied to obtain NiTi SMA products with compli-
cated shapes, there is not much information available.
The work of Hamanaka et al. (1989) showed promising
results of the mechanical behaviour for NiTi SMA spe-
cimens obtained with a new casting machine, similar to
one of the machines used in this work. More recently,
Yoshimi et al. (2008) manufactured NiTi SMA ingots
and tensile specimens by precision casting, utilizing the
lost-wax process from a self-combustion high-tempera-
ture synthesis (SHS) method. However, the NiTi SMA
specimens were subjected to tensile tests up to a maxi-
mum deformation of only 2%. Even so, the authors
showed that several complicated shapes could be
obtained. In addition, Klotz and Heiss (2014) showed
that NiTi was much ‘easier’ to cast by shell casting
from wax patterns than Ti6Al4V alloy due to its lower
melting temperature and lower reactivity. Then, a very
good form filling was achieved at shell temperatures of
22°C and 200°C, and no parts broke off during coating
removal. However, these authors did not perform
mechanical tests of the cast products.
To establish an alternative route to produce NiTi
SMA mechanical parts of simple or complex designs in
small sizes, this work uses investment casting for the
first time, a common process that is relatively inexpen-
sive and can be industrially implanted. Thus, to manu-
facture mechanical components of NiTi SMAs
(Belleville springs, staple implants, meshes, hexagonal
honeycombs, helical springs and screw), two different
metal casting and injection moulding processes were
used in this work as follows: plasma skull push pull
(PSPP), previously validated by De Araújo et al.
(2009), and centrifugal casting. This work presents a
new technique using investment casting processes to
make SMA parts. Therefore, it is believed that the
methodology proposed in this work is viable for
3
manufacturing SMA mechanical components with
functional properties in order to materialize intellectual
production created from the functionalities of these
intelligent materials.
Experimental procedures
As previously discussed, investment casting processes
were employed in this study to manufacture NiTi SMA
mechanical parts. Two different techniques were
employed including plasma melting followed by pres-
sure injection moulding (PSPP) and induction melting
followed by centrifugal casting (ICC).
To validate the use of these technologies and to
demonstrate the versatility of the methodology devel-
oped in this work to make NiTi SMA components, six
different mechanical designs have been defined to be
obtained: staple implants (SI), Belleville springs (BS),
meshes (M), helical springs (HS), screws (S) and hexa-
gonal honeycombs (HH). Three casting experiments
were performed for each mechanical component. For
this, models (foundry patterns) to make the ceramic
moulds were produced by a 3D printer from wax or
acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS). Figure 1 shows
the six pattern designs and their dimensions.
The ceramic moulds were prepared based on the
conventional lost-wax technique for jewellery and pros-
thetics. Thus, a refractory material is inserted into a
container with the pattern and the feed system (usually
produced of pattern material) that drains the part to be
cast. After the curing and drying processes, the mixture
is brought into a furnace for sintering in order to elimi-
nate the pattern material and give resistance to the
refractory material to obtain the mould. A Microfine
1700Ò dental ceramic coating was used to make the
moulds, following the manufacturer’s instructions.
According to the supplier (Talmax, Brazil), this coating
is carbon free and consists of 50% feldspar, 30%
quartz, 10% phosphate and 10% compromising agents.
As a raw material, an NiTi SMA with nominal compo-
sition Ni50.2Ti49.8 (at.%) was used. This alloy must
present SE characteristics at room temperature
(approximately 25°C). The NiTi SMA bulks used for
the investment casting were obtained by a plasma melt-
ing process using a pure argon atmosphere, as reported
by De Araújo et al. (2009). Table 1 presents data on
the materials used for casting each NiTi SMA part and
parameters for mechanical evaluation.
Figure 2 shows a simplified flowchart of the steps
required to produce NiTi SMA parts by investment
casting from NiTi casting bulks (buttons) with masses
between 20 and 35 g (Figure 2(a)). Thus, the mould
(Figure 2(b)) containing the cavity with the desired
design (Figure 1) and NiTi SMA (casting bulk) is
inserted into the chosen machine (Figure 2(c)), where
the casting is fulfilled. The casting machines can be
4 Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures 00(0)
Figure 1. Mechanical design and dimensions in mm of patterns to manufacture NiTi SMA components: (a) staple implants, (b)
Belleville springs, (c) meshes, (d) helical springs, (e) screws and (f) hexagonal honeycombs.
Discovery All Metals (PSPP process) or Power Cast
1700 (ICC process), both supplied by EDG (Brazil). In
these machines, casting is not only done by gravity. In
the first machine, corresponding to the PSPP process,
the NiTi button is remelted on a copper crucible under
an argon protective atmosphere and injected under
pressure (25–30 psi) into the ceramic coating mould. In
the second, corresponding to the ICC process, the NiTi
button is remelted in a ceramic crucible by induction
under a continuous flow of argon (10 L/min) and
injected into the ceramic coating mould by the centrifu-
gal force of an arm rotating at speeds that can vary
between 350 and 450 r/min. In both machines, the total
time for melting (at approximately 1450°C) and casting
was typically 60 s. Thereafter, the mould is removed to
release and obtain the designed cast (Figure 2(d)).
Afterward, the cast is cleaned by means of aluminium
oxide blasting (granulation 100 mm), followed by clean-
ing in acid solution (50 mL HNO3 + 50 mL HF) and
washing in water. Finally, the NiTi SMA mechanical
part passes through cutting feeder conduits to be
visually inspected. More details of these procedures
and process variables for each piece of equipment can
be obtained in previous work by Simões (2016).
The TTs of each NiTi SMA product were deter-
mined by a combination of DSC and electrical
resistance versus temperature (ERT) techniques, with
heating/cooling rates of 10°C min21, from 270°C to
120°C, using a DSC from TA Instruments (Q 20 model)
and a refrigeration bath circulator (Hubber, CC 902
model) for ERT, respectively. To evaluate the mechani-
cal behaviour of each NiTi SMA component, tests with
specific assemblies were performed. The data and para-
meters are presented in Table 1. For this, NiTi SMA
parts were submitted to cycles at different maximum
imposed global strains with respect to height (e = DH/
H0; Table 1). The experiments were performed using an
electromechanical testing machine (Instron, E10000
model) equipped with a load cell of 10 kN. The tests
were carried out with as-cast and heat-treated NiTi
SMA components. As established by Simões (2016), the
heat treatment applied was homogenization at 850°C
for 60 min followed by ageing at 500°C for 2 h.
Results and discussion
The experimental procedures used in this work pro-
vided a successful production of all proposed NiTi
SMA components defined in Figure 1. Figures 3 and 4
show the NiTi SMA as-cast parts (staple implant,
Belleville springs, mesh, helical spring, screw and hexa-
gonal honeycombs) manufactured by PSPP and ICC
de Brito Simões and de Araújo 5

Table 1. Data and mechanical test parameters used in different NiTi SMA components.

NiTi SMA SE Codes Pattern Loading type (N) and maximum global strain (e = DH/H0) in each cycle (%) Test speed
component material

Staple implant SI ABS Bending force 10% min21

20 (1st), 40 (2nd), 60 (3rd), 80 (4th) and 100 (5th)
Belleville spring BS ABS Compressive force 10% min21
20 (1st), 30 (2nd), 40 (3rd), 50 (4th), 60 (5th) and 70 (6th)
Mesh M Wax Tensile force 1% min21
1 (1st), 2 (2nd), 3 (3rd), 4 (4th), 5 (5th) and 6 (6th)
Helical spring HS Wax Tensile force 10% min21
20 (1st), 40 (2nd), 60 (3rd) and 80 (4th)
Screw S Wax Tensile force 1% min21
6 (1th)
Hexagonal HH ABS Compressive force 1% min21
honeycombs 1 (1st), 2 (2nd), 3 (3rd), 4 (4th), 5 (5th) and 6 (6th)

NiTi: nickel–titanium; SMA: shape memory alloy.

Figure 2. Flowchart of the manufacturing process of NiTi SMA components: (a) NiTi SMA bulk, (b) ceramic mould, (c) PSPP or
ICC cast machine and (d) NiTi SMA part (staple implant).

processes. Grey appearance can be observed on the sur-
face of NiTi SMA parts, which is likely the result of a
superficial reaction that occurs in the metal-mould
interface that provides a surface layer of high hardness
according to Klotz and Heiss (2014). During visual
inspection performed on the products, no defects were
detected that would cause the loss of component
integrity.
From the results of thermal characterization (DSC
and ERT), it was possible to confirm phase transfor-
mations in the NiTi SMA components in their raw
casting state (as-cast). Figure 5 shows an example of
typical curves resulted from DSC and ERT tests; in this
case, the results are presented for the HH-ICC-SE NiTi
SMA components (hexagonal honeycombs) in the as-
cast condition. Similar thermal behaviours were
observed for all other mechanical parts. In general,
after the heat treatment, the DSC peaks and the ERT
curves are better defined, facilitating the application of
the tangent method to obtain the TTs. Figure 5(a)
shows the phase transformation observed by DSC
without the clear appearance of the rhombohedral
phase (R-phase). In contrast, the ERT behaviour
shown in Figure 5(b) for the same component during
cooling exhibited the presence of an R-phase (fre-
quently observed in NiTi SMA) that was suppressed by
the sensitivity of the DSC technique, as reported by
Otsuka and Wayman (1998). This characteristic was
6 Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures 00(0)

Figure 3. NiTi SMA components manufactured by investment casting using the PSPP process: (a) staple implants, (b) Belleville
springs, (c) meshes, (d) helical springs, (e) screw and (f) hexagonal honeycombs.

Figure 4. NiTi SMA components manufactured by investment casting using the ICC process: (a) staple implant, (b) Belleville
springs, (c) meshes, (d) helical springs, (e) screw and (f) hexagonal honeycombs.

detected in many of the NiTi SMA components manu-
factured in this work. In this way, it is important to per-
form the thermal characterization of NiTi SMA by
means of the two different techniques used in this study
since they are complementary, as discussed by Simões
et al. (2014). Therefore, it can be affirmed that process
control and some adaptations made in pre-existing tech-
nologies for investment casting can provide NiTi SMA
products with thermoelastic martensitic transformation.
Table 2 summarizes the TTs obtained using DSC
and ERT techniques together for the components
selected for mechanical tests. The highest MS tempera-
ture determined for NiTi SMA SE parts was 19.2°C. It
is well known and verified by Otsuka and Wayman
(1998) that the minimal variations observed in TTs of
the NiTi SMA parts are considered acceptable because
these materials are highly sensitive to thermomechani-
cal processing and small chemical composition varia-
tions. In addition, the transformation enthalpies (EA
and EM energy values in Table 2) between 7 and 22 J/g
are compatible with the NiTi SMA family, as also
established by Otsuka and Wayman (1998).
de Brito Simões and de Araújo 7

Table 2. Energies and phase transformation temperatures of the as-cast and heat-treated NiTi SMA mechanical components
obtained by the PSPP and ICC processes.

NiTi SMA component Transformation temperatures (°C) Energy (J/g)

MF MP MS AS AP AF EM EA

SI-ICC-SE-as cast 215.3 4.3 19.2 19.4 43.0 49.2 20.4 20.5
SI-ICC-SE-heat treated 214.1 0.2 18.2 20.4 42.1 47.2 21.5 22.0
BS-PSPP-SE-as cast 234.0 2.6 12.8 212.1 24.6 47.2 14.3 16.5
BS-PSPP-SE-heat treated 229.0 0.3 10.7 213.1 24.3 45.4 19.4 20.3
BS-ICC-SE-as cast 220.9 6.5 10.8 211.6 29.0 48.7 11.7 15.0
M-ICC-SE-as cast 217.4 14.4 29.4 8.2 34.6 49.0 18.6 18.9
M-ICC-SE-heat treated 214.0 2.6 25.1 13.0 37.0 50.5 11.5 15.7
HS-PSPP-SE-as cast 217.2 23.2 13.4 22.8 38.6 50.0 7.6 6.5
HS-ICC-SE-as cast 28.0 1.7 19.8 214.5 31.6 53.7 7.3 16.2
S-ICC-SE-heat treated 234.1 218.7 210.1 227.5 10.3 36.3 7.0 14.0
HH-PSPP-SE-heat treated 240.8 216.6 7.2 21.8 33.0 55.9 7.5 11.5
HH-ICC-SE-heat treated 236.5 211.8 14.7 212.2 30.1 49.5 9.9 14.2

BS: Belleville spring; HH: hexagonal honeycomb; HS: helical spring; SE: superelasticity; M: mesh; S: screw; NiTi: nickel–titanium; PSPP: plasma skull
push pull; SMA: shape memory alloy; SI: staple implant.

strain of 0.7% after unloading. The maximum strength

Figure 5. DSC and ERT behaviours for the HH-ICC-SE
component in the as-cast condition.
The NiTi SMA components were always heated at
temperatures above AF before the mechanical tests.
Room temperature is 25°C (higher than MS), so with
the first heating procedure, we ensure the mechanical
tests occur at the austenitic phase to observe the SE
behaviour.
The mechanical tests aimed to qualify and prove the
functional SE property indicated by phase transforma-
tion in the thermal characterization. Thus, the mechan-
ical behaviour of NiTi SMA components was discussed
in a general and qualitative manner with respect to the
force versus strain curves shown in Figures 6 to 8.
Figure 6(a) shows force versus global strain beha-
viour of the heat-treated HH-PSPP-SE NiTi SMA
component (hexagonal honeycomb) submitted to a
compression loading and unloading test. The maximum
global strain imposed was 6% in this test, revealing a
superelastic strain of roughly 5.3% due to the residual
reached 750 N at 3.5%, and the typical hysteretic beha-
viour of the SMA was observed. This type of test was
employed by Machado et al. (2015) and Shaw et al.
(2007) to characterize NiTi SMA honeycombs obtained
by other manufacturing processes, and similar qualita-
tive results were obtained, as shown in Figure 6(a).
Figure 6(b) shows force versus global strain behaviour
for the heat-treated S-ICC-SE NiTi SMA component
(screw), which was submitted to a tensile test. The max-
imum global strain imposed was also 6% in this test.
The mechanical behaviour showed the formation of a
strain plateau at a constant force of approximately
280 N, which is a characteristic of SE presented by the
NiTi SMA. In this component, a complete hysteresis
loop without any residual strain was observed, even
with the presence of threads along the screw length.
Figure 6(c) shows the force versus global strain curve of
the as-cast SI-ICC-SE NiTi SMA part (staple implant),
which was submitted to a maximum bending load of
approximately 15 N (in the sense of opening it 100%).
A residual strain of nearly 33% was observed in this
component after loading and unloading. Such relatively
large residual strain is possibly a result of the higher
TTs (MS = 19.2°C and AF = 49.2°C), indicating that
the component can be in a mixed state (martensite and
austenite). An NiTi SMA component with the same
geometry and dimensions of the SI-ICC-SE was made
through the AM process by Elahinia et al. (2016), but
information on the mechanical behaviour was not
reported. The residual strains observed in all NiTi
SMA components were completely restored with subse-
quent heating to temperatures higher than AF after
mechanical testing.
The effect of the post-cast heat treatment performed
on the NiTi SMA components did not promote signifi-
cant changes in TTs (Table 2) but rather caused a small
8 Journal of Intelligent Material Systems and Structures 00(0)
Figure 6. Force versus global strain curves of NiTi SMA components: (a) HH-PSPP-SE-heat treated, (b) S-ICC-SE-heat treated and
(c) SI-ICC-SE-as cast.
Figure 7. Force versus global strain curves of some NiTi SMA components in as-cast and heat-treated conditions: (a) BS-PSPP-SE,
(b) M-ICC-SE and (c) SI-ICC-SE.
increase in the phase transformation energies in some
components and provided an improvement of the
mechanical behaviour of the components, as illustrated
in Figure 7. From the cyclic force versus global strain
behaviours, it is evident that NiTi SMA components in
the as-cast raw state need a greater force to reach the
same global strain level, independent of the casting pro-
cess (PSPP or ICC). This phenomenon was observed
for all components and is likely due to a higher level of
residual stresses in the as-cast components in compari-
son with heat-treated components. In all cases, supere-
lastic strains were observed, accompanying some
residual strains.
Figure 8 shows the comparison between the two
processes employed (PSPP and ICC). Analysing the
force versus global strain curves obtained by different
processes for the same NiTi SMA component, that is,
the Belleville spring in Figure 8(a), it was verified that
the PSPP process provides components with higher
mechanical strength compared to components manu-
factured by the ICC process. The lower level of residual
strain was noted in the NiTi SMA components
obtained by PSPP either with the material in its raw
state (Figure 8(a) and (b)) or submitted to heat treat-
ment (Figure 8(c)). Mechanical cycling curves similar
to those obtained for some of the NiTi SMA
components manufactured in this work were seen in
the literature, such as hexagonal honeycombs by Shaw
et al. (2007) and Belleville springs by Speicher et al.
(2009). Although some surface defects characteristic of
the investment casting processes were observed by
visual inspection, such as porosities and the inclusion
of gas cavities, the mechanical test results showed that
there were no influences on the mechanical behaviour
or material strength for the strain levels imposed in this
work.
No previous studies were found that used lost-wax
investment casting to manufacture NiTi SMA mechani-
cal components with functional properties (SE or
SME) that could help to better compare with the
results presented here. Although some studies report
the use of technologies similar to those used in this
work to reprocess NiTi SMA, none had the direct
intention of obtaining mechanical components in their
near net shape. In addition, in these studies, characteri-
zation of the obtained material showed few promising
results in relation to mechanical behaviour, as reported
by Hamanaka et al. (1989), Yoshimi et al. (2008) and
Klotz and Heiss (2014). In the results presented by
these other authors, a negative point of the investment
casting processes was the fragility presented by the
NiTi SMA materials. In contrast, the processes applied
de Brito Simões and de Araújo
Figure 8. Force versus global strain curves of the NiTi SMA components manufactured by PSPP and ICC investment casting
processes: (a) BS-SE-as cast, (b) HS-SE-as cast and (c) HH-SE-heat treated.
in this work provide the manufacture of NiTi SMA
components with satisfactory mechanical behaviour in
terms of strength and strain levels.
Conclusion
In this work, the effectiveness of investment casting
processes for the manufacture of mechanical compo-
nents of NiTi SMAs was clearly demonstrated for the
first time. Both PSPP and ICC processes provided com-
ponents with thermoelastic martensitic transformation
as well as functional properties of SE and the SME
(because all residual strains were recovered by heating
after mechanical testing).
Some defects that were verified in the NiTi SMA
mechanical components by visual inspection and that
were inherent to the investment casting process did not
promote the loss of product integrity; these defects can
be minimized or eliminated in future studies. The
mechanical behaviour presented by the NiTi compo-
nents is similar to those found in the literature. The
PSPP process for performing copper crucible melting
under a pressurized argon inert atmosphere preserves
the functional properties and delivers NiTi SMA com-
ponents with better mechanical behaviour.
Finally, it is believed that the PSPP and ICC pro-
cesses employed in this work can provide NiTi SMA
products that satisfy various market demands, mainly
for future dental or medical applications.
Additional studies related to metallurgy, microstruc-
ture, heat treatments, biocompatibility and fatigue
behaviour of these NiTi SMA components will contrib-
ute even more to this initial work and will be the object
of future research.
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this
article.
9
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial sup-
port for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article: This work was supported by the Brazilian National
Council for Scientific and Technological Development
(CNPq; grant numbers 574001/2008-5, 401128/2016-4 and
304658/2014-6) and CAPES (grant number 88881.118805/
2016-01).
ORCID iD
Carlos José de Araújo https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8939-
0946
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