Mechanical and microstructural properties of nitinol fabricated on a preheated Ti6Al4V base plate using laser direct metal deposition (LDMD) process

¹ Manufacturing Cluster, Photonics Centre, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria, South Africa
² School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, 2050, South Africa
³ Department of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa

Abstract

This study reports the microstructure and mechanical properties of Nitinol fabricated on a pre-heated Ti6Al4V plate using laser direct metal deposition (LDMD). Commercial nitinol powder with approximately 50:50 wt.% ratio of nickel to titanium was laser deposited on a preheated Ti6Al4V plate. The produced samples were characterized using optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Vickers hardness tester. The hardness was measured transversely on the deposited layers. The hardness obtained on the pre-heated substrate remained uniform with an increase in linear energy density. However, on a non-preheated substrate, the hardness decreased as the linear energy density increased.