Mechanical and corrosion behaviour of superelastic additively manufactured Nitinol for biomedical applications

The interest in Nitinol (NiTi) as biomedical material is growing thanks to its unique properties, particularly shape memory and superelasticity. Recently, additive manufacturing (AM) has emerged as an alternative to fabricate superelastic NiTi biomedical parts. However, when using AM to fabricate NiTi parts, a proper heat treatment must follow, recommended not only to alleviate the AM-induced residual stresses, but also to develop a suitable microstructure to enhance the material superelasticity. This heat treatment is expected to modify also the NiTi corrosion behavior, which must be evaluated since corrosion may lead to the possible harmful release of nickel ions in the human environment. In this framework, the objective of the paper is to assess the mechanical and corrosion properties of a Ni-rich NiTi fabricated by laser powder bed fusion before and after heat treatment. To this aim, nano-indentation was used to evaluate superelasticity, whereas electro-chemical tests provided the corrosion potential and current density. The results of the analyses show that both the mechanical and corrosion characteristics were related to the peculiar microstructural features induced by the AM and heat treatment steps, nevertheless ageing at 600°C was the best in terms of superelasticity, while aging at 300°C assured the highest corrosion resistance.