Researchers fine-tune damping properties of NiTi alloy via powder bed fusion
Researchers from the City University of Hong Kong and Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and mainland Chinese organisations Chongqing University and Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science have published a scientific paper in Acta Materialia focused on fine-tuning the damping properties of NiTi when processed via Laser Beam Powder Bed Fusion (PBF-LB) Additive Manufacturing.
NiTi alloys exhibit an impressive damping effect at the damping peak temperature (Tp), and aligning Tp with target temperatures may present significant value. Traditionally, tuning the damping performance of NiTi alloys demands precise modifications to raw material composition and complex thermomechanical processing. ‘Achieving efficient damping performance tuning in NiTi alloy via laser powder bed fusion’ reported achieving an efficient tuning of Tp across a broad 93 K range via PBF-LB, thus eliminating the need for material modifications and further treatments.
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Additionally, the study discussed the composition and influencing factors of damping peaks in PBF-LB NiTi alloys. Furthermore, high-damping, lightweight NiTi porous structures were fabricated by PBF-LB, highlighting advantages over conventional routines.
Adjusting the laser scanning speed during PBF-LB Additive Manufacturing modulated the laser–powder interaction, resulting in variations in temperature, lifespan, and volume of the molten pool. Through the use of this AM technology, researchers tuned the damping peak temperature of NiTi alloys from 345/278 to 300/230 K while maintaining a high damping peak intensity (Q−1) between 0.06 and 0.11. The tuning of Tp was attributed to changes in Ni content due to element evaporation, which was achieved by adjusting the laser scanning speed (V). Specifically, increasing V alleviated laser–powder interactions, leading to lower molten pool temperature, lifespan, and volume.
‘Achieving efficient damping performance tuning in NiTi alloy via laser powder bed fusion’ is available here.
