Suspended droplet alloying: A new method for combinatorial alloy synthesis; nitinol-based alloys as an example

Sheng Li, Nicholas J.E. Adkins, Stephen McCain, Moataz M. Attallah*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)
304 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

A new combinatorial alloy synthesis method (suspended droplet alloying) has been developed as a high-throughput approach for alloy discovery. The method is based on using a laser to melt elemental or alloyed wires fed at a controlled rate to achieve a specific chemistry. In this study, the metallurgical characteristics of alloy buttons created using this technique were assessed for TiNi-based shape memory alloy buttons deposited using pure Ni, Ti, and Cu wires. The microstructural and chemical inhomogeneity was assessed using quantitative electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Furthermore, the phase transformation temperatures of the coupons have been compared to cast and heat-treated (reference) samples. In general, the samples displayed a limited local deviation from the target chemistry (±1 wt%), while displaying a fairly homogeneous microstructure with the expected phase distribution. Post-process homogenisation heat treatments enhanced the phase transformation response, approaching the response obtained from the reference samples.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)392-398
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Alloys and Compounds
Volume768
Early online date24 Jul 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 Nov 2018

Keywords

  • Combinatorial synthesis
  • Laser processing
  • Metals and alloys
  • Nitinol

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Metals and Alloys
  • Materials Chemistry

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