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Study on mechanical performance of laser-welded NiTinol sheet

Article in Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part B Journal of Engineering Manufacture · July 2020
DOI: 10.1177/0954405420937532

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Special Issue Article

Proc IMechE Part B:

J Engineering Manufacture
1–12
Study on mechanical performance of Ó IMechE 2020
Article reuse guidelines:
laser-welded NiTinol sheet sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/0954405420937532
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Susmita Datta , Mohammad Shahid Raza , Partha Saha and Dilip

Kumar Pratihar

Abstract
NiTinol, because of its several superior properties like shape memory effect, pseudoelasticity, corrosion resistance and
biocompatibility, has become a promising member for various application areas including biomedical, micro-electro-
mechanical system and aerospace. Poor machinability, lack of joining techniques and high cost of the material are pre-
sently restricting the use of the material in practical applications to its full potential. Laser welding is the majorly used
fabrication technique for this material. The effects of welding on the bead geometry, microstructure, new phase forma-
tion, phase transformation temperature for laser welding of 2-mm thick NiTinol sheet in bead-on-plate configuration
were investigated through this study using Yb-fiber laser in continuous mode of operation. Moreover, the mechanical
properties of the joint were assessed by means of tensile tests and cyclic loading–unloading test. The functionality of the
cyclic loading–unloading was tested by analysis of the mechanical hysteresis response up to 6% strain levels.
Furthermore, the fractured surface was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. Results revealed that the microstruc-
ture varied across the different zones of welding depending on temperature gradient and solidification rate. The micro-
hardness value of the weld-bead was reduced considerably from that of the parent material. Brittle intermetallic
compounds of Ti and Ni were formed during welding. It was also found that the welding greatly influenced the phase
transformation temperature, overall mechanical behavior and the mode of failure in comparison with parent material.

Keywords
NiTinol, fiber laser welding, phase transformation temperature, tensile property, cyclic loading–unloading behavior

Date received: 2 July 2019; accepted: 7 June 2020

Introduction The mechanical properties of NiTinol, the most ver-

satile SMA, can be attuned by either the variations in
A collection of ‘‘functional advanced materials,’’ having chemical composition or by thermomechanical process-
the characteristic of shape memory effect (SME), is ing. A solid-state diffusionless transformation between
known as shape memory alloy (SMA). In the year austenite phase and the martensite phase was the cause
1932, Ölander1 observed the rubber like performance behind functional properties of the alloy. Austenite is
of the AuCd system and first reported the shape mem- known as the stable phase or parent phase, having
ory phenomena. An equiatomic Ni–Ti system, having ordered B2 structure, but martensite is unstable with
the trade name of NiTinol, was first discovered by B19# monoclinic structure. The martensitic transforma-
Buehler and Wiley2 in Naval Ordnance Laboratory in tion is the main factor responsible for SME and SE.
the year 1960. Since its invention, it is the most popular The ability to return to the first stable phase with the
SMA among designers and product developers. From use of heat is known as SME. On the other hand, the
the last decade, this alloy was extensively utilized in the
ground of biomedical and medical industry3–5 due to
its superior properties like SME,6 excellent corrosion Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology
resistance behavior and very good biocompatibility, Kharagpur, Kharagpur, India
superelasticity (SE).7 Nowadays, these materials are
Corresponding author:
extensively exploited in the field of aerospace, micro-
Susmita Datta, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of
electro-mechanical system (MEMS), civil engineering, Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721302, India.
automotive industry and power plants.8–12 Email: [email protected]
2 Proc IMechE Part B: J Engineering Manufacture 00(0)

ability to achieve a full recoverable high strain level due in comparison with base. Vieira et al.26 reported super-
to the formation of stress-induced martensite (SIM) is ior mechanical, functional and cyclic behavior of laser-
known as SE. It is clear that the superior properties of welded cold-rolled plates of NiTinol. The welded sam-
SMA are entirely dependent on structure of the alloy, ples showed the presence of more recoverable strain
which is basically a function of microstructure and than the base material. In their study, Falvo et al.27
chemical compositions. From the above discussions, it reported the mechanical properties of laser-welded
could be said that any fusion welding system must NiTinol sheets. They showed a considerable decrease in
affect the mechanical properties of NiTinol. Despite all both UTS and SME because of very low irrecoverable
the limitations in fabrication of NiTinol components strain. For the evaluation of mechanical behavior of
by traditional methods,13 getting good quality joints in laser-welded Ni-rich SMA, Schlossmacher et al.28 also
NiTinol without much hampering the superior qualities reported the reduction of UTS along with the forma-
is mostly desired. tion of SIM in Ni-rich SMA. Maletta et al.29 studied
Between all other sources of energy, laser is the typi- how the laser welding affected the fracture mechanism
cally favored for many engineering applications (such of NiTinol sheets and reported some attractive compar-
as surface treatment,14 joining,15–20 etc.) because of the ison among the base material and the welded samples.
superior properties of the system: high processing Chan et al.30 studied the effect of heat treatment on the
speed, capability to attain reasonable control of heat cyclic deformation property of laser-welded NiTinol
input, minimum residual stress, good weld-bead profile wires. They reported the decrease in tensile strength
and narrow width of heat-affected zone (HAZ). and fracture to elongation after welding. In the cyclic
Formation of brittle intermetallic phases and the preci- deformation test, post weld heat treatment (PWHT) up
pitation of the same on the grain boundaries signifi- to specific temperature improved the deformation
cantly affect the mechanical behavior, namely, ultimate behavior through the reduction of accumulated resi-
tensile strength (UTS) and elongation to rupture of the dual strain. In another work, Chan et al.31 reported the
laser-welded samples. As higher rate of solidification is fatigue behavior of laser-welded NiTinol wires in small
achieved in laser welding, the precipitation of these strain cycle bending study. Khan and Zhou,32 in their
brittle phases can be significantly reduced by laser study, reported the presence of multiple transformation
welding. Due to these benefits, laser welding is now peaks in between the high and low-temperature peaks.
widely used for fabrication of different engineering These peaks corresponded to R-phase transformation
materials including Cu–Ni alloy,15 aluminum alloy,16 during phase transformation phenomenon. Oliveira
different types of steel17–19 and plastic.20 et al.33 also reported the presence of R-phase in the
Understanding the consequences of laser welding on phase transformation sequence of YAG laser-welded
the functional behavior such as SME, SE are the pri- austenitic NiTinol. During cooling a two-step conver-
mary criteria for successful practical applications of sion (from austenite to R-phase and from R-phase to
laser-welded NiTinol samples as described by Eggeler martensite) occurred, but in heating cycle only one
et al.21 The effect of laser welding on the mechanical peak corresponding to conversion of martensite to aus-
behavior and functional properties of NiTinol was tenite was observed.
investigated by several researchers.22–27 It was estab- From the existing literature, it was clear that the
lished through studies that the thermal cycle of laser majority of the studies paid attention to the mechanical
welding creates a microstructural gradient from weld- and functional behavior analysis of laser-welded
bead toward the base material all the way through NiTinol thin wires or sheets having diameter/thickness
HAZ. below 0.5 mm.30,31,34–36 Studies on mechanical proper-
Oliveira et al.22 reported that though SME of weld- ties of laser-welded NiTinol sheets of more than 0.5-
zone and HAZ were preserved after welding, there mm thickness are very limited.26,36 Vieira et al.26
might be changes in the transformation temperatures reported the superelastic performance of laser-welded
of those regions in comparison with those of the base NiTinol sheet of 1-mm thickness. Hsu et al.36 consid-
material. Falvo et al.23 studied the two-way SME of ered the cyclic deformation behavior of laser-welded 2-
Nd:YAG laser-welded 1.15-mm thick sheets of mm thick sheet.
NiTinol. They reported a boost in two-way shape The thickness of the sheet decides the overall heat
memory strain in the base material with the rising num- content for full penetration welding. In case of thin
ber of training cycles. However, the welded specimens sheet, though the overall heat content is less than the
showed an augment of the same up to first five cycles thick sheet, the solidification process of thick sheet is
and a consequent decrement with further increment of quick due to high rate of cooling owing to more vol-
training cycles due to strong plastic deformation phe- ume of solid material in thick sheet, helping in rapid
nomena. Tuissi et al.24 studied the effect of heat treat- conduction of the heat from the weld-pool. As a result
ments in order to optimize the pseudoelasticity for two of which the solidification mechanism is entirely differ-
different conditions: partially annealed and fully recrys- ent for thin and thick sheets. Due to this difference, the
tallized of Nd:YAG laser-welded NiTinol tapes. They thick sheets must have harder and finer microstructure
concluded that there is very little modification of SIM in comparison with thin sheet. Even the tensile strength
and the recovery process of fully recrystallized material and the impact test data of the thick sheet showed the
Datta et al. 3

Table 1. Different combination of process parameters used for experiments.

Sl. no. Power (P) (W) Scan speed (v) (mm/min) Heat input (P/v) (J/mm)

1 1400 3000 28
2 1700 3000 34

variation of result in comparison with thin sheet in case

of arc-welded steel joints due to the variations in cool-
ing rate and mode of solidification.37 In case of thicker
sheet, the bead volume should be more than that of
thin sheet to make a sufficiently strong joint and as a
result of which the residual stresses would increase in
case of thick sheet. In case of resistance spot welding of
aluminum sheet, same kind of observations was made
by Sedighi et al.38
Basically, thin wires and sheets are used for delicate
applications in the field of MEMS and biomedical. On
the other hand, the requirements of thick sheets and
Figure 1. Schematic representation of experimental setup of
big diameter wires are vital for different structural
laser welding system.
applications. Hence, the study of cyclic loading perfor-
mance, for large number of cycles, of laser-welded sheet
of NiTinol with considerable thickness for structural
protected from atmospheric contamination using Ar as
application is a need of the time to recognize the viabi-
shielding gas at a flow rate of 7 L/min. Table 1 shows
lity of the utilization of laser-welded NiTinol sheets in
the values of laser power and scan speed selected for
such structural application. So it can be summarized
the experimentation. The overall heat input value was
from the above discussion that the study of mechanical
selected in such a way so that full penetration narrow
performance of laser welding of 2-mm thick NiTinol
weld-bead with different morphology could be
sheet would be a completely different work in compari-
achieved. These values were identified through pilot
son with the same kind of study carried out for thin
experiments, done before the actual experimentation.
sheet or small diameter wire from application point of
Figure 1 represents the schematic experimental setup.
view as well as mechanism point of view.
After completion of welding, the tracks were cut at
The authors previously investigated the effects of
some distance from the edge of the plate to get the reg-
process parameters on the quality aspects of weld-bead
ularity in cross section of the weld-bead by avoiding
in laser welding of NiTinol sheets using fiber laser.39
the edge effect, and the cut cross section was manually
The present work concentrates on how laser welding
affects the functional properties of 2-mm thick sheets polished by mechanical means. Etching was carried out
of NiTinol in terms of tensile properties, SE and phase in an acid solution of HF:HNO3:H2O = 3:7:21 for 30 s
transformation behavior. This work mainly emphasized to expose the weld-bead profile. Zeiss zoom microscope
on superelastic behavior of laser-welded NiTinol sam- was utilized to obtain the weld-bead profile geometry
ples for high number of cycles of cyclic loading. data. The metallographic samples were analyzed using
inverted optical microscope (model: Axio Vert.A1,
make: Zeiss) for obtaining the microstructural informa-
Experimental details tion. Microhardness test was conducted on the etched
cross section of the bead using Vickers microhardness
NiTinol sheet, having chemical composition of 52-
tester of Omnitech, India (model: S.Auto). For measur-
atomic% Ni and 48-atomic% Ti, of 2-mm thickness
ing the variation in microhardness across the weld-
was used as work-piece material for bead-on-plate laser
welding experimentations. Before welding, the samples bead, HAZ and the base material, a load of 50 g with
were cleaned in an acid solution of HF:HNO3:H2O 10-s dwell time was applied by diamond pyramid
with a concentration of 1:5:10 to eliminate any kind of indenter. To identify the generation of new phases, X-
surface oxide layers. Then, the samples were ultrasoni- ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of the welded and the
cated for 5 min in acetone solution to remove any acid parent samples was carried out using PANanalytic
residue from the samples. The cleaned samples were EMPYREAN system with Cu-Ka radiation.
welded using a 2-kW Yb-doped fiber laser system of ASTM E8/E8M—15a standard was used for cutting
IPG Laser (model: YLR—2000), having a wavelength tensile test samples using wire electrical discharge
of 1.06 mm and 200-mm focal length, in continuous machining (wire-EDM) process. A drawing of a typical
mode of operation. A focal spot of diameter 400 mm tensile sample with measurement is given in Figure 2.
was set on the top of the sample. The work-piece was Tensile test was performed with the help of load cell–
4 Proc IMechE Part B: J Engineering Manufacture 00(0)

restricted heating and cooling phenomena at a rate of

10 °C/min. The conversion temperatures were calcu-
lated using Pyrisä Software, considering the ASTM
F2004-05 standard.

Results and discussion

Bead geometry
Figure 2. Tensile test samples with measurements.
Figure 3 displays the macrographs of the weld-bead
profile for different parametric combinations. It was
clear from the study that with the change in heat input,
type universal testing machine (Instron 8862) at a tra-
the bead shape got changed. With the increase in heat
verse head speed of 0.5 mm/min, and a regular gauge
input, the melt volume of the bead got gradually
length of 25 mm was chosen for all mechanical tests.
increased. From the figure, it is clear that at 1400-W
Initially, uniaxial tensile test was executed with a single
power, that is, at heat input value of 28 J/mm, promi-
loading cycle until the rupture took place. After the
nent wine-glass-shaped bead, with the wider top and
completion of tensile test, images of the fractured sur-
narrow leg, was formed. On the other hand, at 1700-W
faces were captured using the scanning electron micro-
power, that is, at heat input value of 34 J/mm, the bead
scope of Zeiss (model: EVO 18 Research) to obtain an
was glass-shaped with almost equal top and bottom
idea about the type of failure in the test specimens.
dimensions and narrow neck portion. Generally, wine-
From this tensile test, the UTS data and elongation
glass-shaped profile was indicative of key-hole mode of
until fracture were recorded and those data were used
welding. Power density was increasing with the increase
to fix the condition for cyclic loading test with the same
in heat input, and the power density value for both the
gauge length and traverse head speed. Cyclic loading
cases (. 105 W/cm2) was high enough to form the deep
tests for 2%, 4% and 6% strains for 300 cycles for all
penetration mode of welding. The bead shape for
the welded samples as well as the base material were
1700 W was different from that of key-hole mode of
carried out.
welding because of the comparatively lower value of
For characterization of the SME of NiTinol-welded
scan speed at that level of power. Because of the higher
and parent specimens, differential scanning calorimetry
value of heat input and the comparatively low value of
(DSC) test was accomplished with the help of
scan speed, the liquid phase of the metal contained
PerkinElmer Pyris Diamond DSC system, with chilled
more amount of heat for a longer time for 1700-W
cooling system. DSC curves were documented in a tem-
power. As a result of this, the bead shape got changed
perature range varying from 2150 °C to 150 °C using
by increasing the melt pool volume. An in-depth study

Figure 3. Optical images of weld-bead profiles.

Datta et al. 5

Porosity originated from gas entrapment during

welding is clearly visible in Figure 3. From the bead
shape, it is clear that the occurrence of porosity is much
higher for the wider bead shape having crater on the
surfaces. This may be attributed to the higher amount
of gas entrapment inside the bead due to loss of mate-
rial for laser welding done at a sufficient high value of
heat input. Due to the presence of porosity, the weld-
bead strength would reduce. The formation of such
kind of defects could be reduced by closed chamber
Ar-gas shielding instead of Ar flow from top and bot-
tom of the plate.

Microstructure
The microstructure of the solidified weld-bead com-
Figure 4. Variations of bead width for different power. pletely depends on the composition of alloy, rate of
solidification (R), temperature gradient (G) and under
cooling (DT). G/R ratio controls the mode of solidifica-
tion, whereas cooling rate (GR) makes a decision on
the dimension of the structure. Solidification rate was
steadily increased from the interface toward the weld
centerline, whereas temperature gradient got reduced
steadily. As a result of which epitaxial grain growth
phenomena started from the fusion line (refer Figure
5(a) and (b)). In the beginning of grain growth, par-
tially melted base material grains beside the interface
acted as the seeding crystal.
When solidification process continues to the weld
center of the bead, dendritic structure was produced.
The rapid cooling of the molten pool, after laser power
termination, helped in the development of dendritic
structure in the weld-bead. A small region of small
columnar grains was formed near the fusion interface
due to competitive grain growth phenomena. The
grains in the center of the bead were almost perpendi-
cular to the weld center (refer Figure 5(a)). HAZ con-
sisted of recrystallized grains with the coarser size (refer
Figure 5. Microstructure of the welded sample for 1400 W: (a)
Figure 5(c)), whereas the base material grains were
weld-bead centerline; (b) interface of weld-bead and HAZ; (c)
HAZ; and (d) base material. finer (refer Figure 5(d)) in size. It was observed that
with increase in laser power the microstructure of the
weld became coarser because of the high rate of heating
of the variations of weld-bead profile geometry with and cooling at constant scan speed, which is in line
operational parameters was reported by the authors with the previous work of the authors.39 The presence
previously.39 A good quality weld-bead should be fully of some needle like structure in the microstructure of
penetrated bead with minimum melt volume. So from the base material was confirming the presence of some
Figure 3, it was clear that at 28-J/mm heat input (3000- amount of martensite along with the predominant pres-
mm/min scan speed and 1400-W power) could be used ence of austenite phase.
for getting good quality fully penetrated bead for 2-mm
thick NiTinol sheet welding. Figure 4 gives the quanti- XRD analysis
tative value of top bead width for both the heat input.
Figure 6 shows the room temperature XRD data in
It was also observed that crater at top and bottom sur-
order to identify the different phases present in the base
faces of the weld-pool were formed at high power level,
material as well as welded samples. In the base mate-
that is, at 1700 W. In case of welding, generally, highly
rial, both austenite and martensite phases were present.
focused beam of laser is incident on the surfaces to be
Austenite is the high-temperature stable phase having
joined and the material is melted without vaporization.
cubic structure, whereas martensite is the low-
If the transferred energy is very high, the material loss
temperature phase having monoclinic structure. In the
from the weld-pool may occur and it forms crater.40
laser-welded samples, creation of different intermetallic
6 Proc IMechE Part B: J Engineering Manufacture 00(0)

Figure 6. XRD results for analysis of phases present in the base material and welded samples at different combinations of input
parameters.

(a) (b)

Figure 7. Microhardness profile variations across the bead for (a) P = 1700 W and (b) P = 1400 W.

phases of Ni and Ti was identified. Predominantly, precipitation of these brittle phases had adverse effects
Ni3Ti and Ti2Ni were formed during welding but their on the mechanical properties,45 shape memory proper-
relative amounts were varied with the variation of heat ties of the joint.22,36
input. As the base material was rich in Ni, the relative
quantity of Ni3Ti intermetallic phase was more than
that of Ti2Ni. It is clear from the graph that with the Microhardness
increase in heat input the relative intensity of different Figure 7(a) presents variations of microhardness across
intermetallic picks was increased. the weld-bead for 1700-W power. The minimum value
The study on different phases present in the weld of microhardness was found in the weld-bead, and it
was vital to understand the functional and mechanical was varied from 250 to 268 HVN0.05. Microhardness
properties of the joint. Among various available inter- value gradually increased from the weld-bead interface
metallic phases of the Ni–Ti system, Ni3Ti41,42 and through HAZ, and it reached the maximum value of
Ti2Ni43,44 are known for diminishing the joint strength 350 HVN0.05 at the base material. The variation in the
and making the joint brittle because of their inherent microhardness was due to the variations in grain size in
brittleness. The precipitation of intermetallics and the different zones of welding and the inhomogeneous
alteration of the chemical composition due to the chemical composition. The coarser the grain, the more
Datta et al. 7

(a) (b)

Figure 8. DSC curves showing the phase transformation temperatures for (a) NiTinol base material and (b) welded samples.

Table 2. Transformation onset temperatures.

Sample no. Heating Cooling

Austenite start Austenite finish Martensite start Martensite finish
temperature (As) (°C) temperature (Af) (°C) temperature (Ms) (°C) temperature (Mf) (°C)

Parent 57.92 64.93 53.57 43.68

1400 W 26.53 5.04 221.39 229.98
1700 W 210.49 2.54 222.48 233.96

will be the reduction in the value of microhardness in and laser-welded samples. Table 2 represents the trans-
the weld-zone from that of the base material. The formation onset temperatures, as obtained from DSC
microstructural and chemical homogeneity in the base peaks. It is clear from the table that the transformation
material is the reason behind the maximum value of temperatures got considerably reduced after welding,
microhardness. Same observations for the reduction of though the transformation range (difference between
microhardness value in bead were also reported by pre- the start and finish temperature of each phase) of any
vious researchers.44,46 phase was almost the same for both welded and parent
It was also observed from Figure 7(a) and (b) that samples. Basically, the laser welding process generated
with increase in laser power vis-a-vis heat input, the the lattice dislocation through the deposition of various
reduction in the value of microhardness was more intermetallic phases which in turn affected the micro-
because of the comparatively coarser grain structure structure of the welding and would also increase the
was formed due to high heating and cooling rate. residual stress after welding.39,42,47 These were the rea-
son behind the reduction of phase transformation tem-
perature after welding.
Differential scanning calorimetric analysis
The phase transformation behavior of the base material
and laser-welded samples was compared with the help Tensile test
of DSC curves. Figure 8 shows the DSC curves for both Figure 9 shows the tensile test performance of both the
welded and un-welded samples. There are two phases of base material as well as the welded samples. A pseudoe-
NiTinol. One is high-temperature stable phase, having lastic characteristic with three different zones in the
simple cubic structure, which is known as austenite stress–strain curve of the base material was prominent.
phase (B2). The other phase, known as martensite The stress plateau was formed at a stress level of
phase (B19#), is low-temperature unstable phase with around 275 MPa for the parent material. With gradual
monoclinic structure. The peaks in DSC curves are indi- raise of load, the material failed at a stress value of
cative of solid-state phase transformation between these 1400 MPa. From Table 3, it is clear that the maximum
two phases. One stage transformation sequence in heat- strain which material could withstand before failure
ing and cooling curve was identified for both the parent was 37.50%. In case of laser-welded samples, ultimate
8 Proc IMechE Part B: J Engineering Manufacture 00(0)

(a) (b)

Figure 9. Tensile test graphs showing (a) base material, (b) welded samples achieved for welding at different combination of input
parameters.

Table 3. Mechanical properties of the parent and welded samples attained from uniaxial tensile test.

Type of sample Maximum tensile stress (MPa) Tensile strain at break (%)

Base material 1400.16 37.50

1400-W Power 472.33 12.18
1700-W Power 467.05 10.87

tensile stress varied in the range of 460–475 MPa and was apparent that the mode of failure was different for
the maximum attainable strain up to fracture varied parent and welded samples. In case of base material,
from 10.87% to 12.18%. It was also evident from the ductile mode of failure with the formation of dimpled
stress–strain diagram that with the increase in laser structure on the fractured surface (refer Figure 10(a))
power, that is, with the increase in heat input, the ten- was observed. Presence of both the transgranular clea-
sile properties of the welded samples deteriorated more. vage structure and dimple structure on the fractured
The stress plateau was formed around 315-MPa stress surface of laser-welded samples was indicative of the
level for laser-welded samples, but all three different mixed mode of failure (refer Figure 10(b)). The forma-
phases of pseudoelastic behavior were not prominent in tion of brittle intermetallic phases during welding, as
the graph, as failure occurred much prior to attain the identified by XRD analysis, helped to change mode of
plastic deformation zone of the welded samples. failure from pure ductile mode of parent sample to
Though there was no significant difference in the tensile mixed mode of failure by introducing transgranular
value of the laser-welded samples, it was prominent cleavage structure on the fractured surface of welded
that with increase in laser power the maximum tensile samples.
strength value gradually reduces with reduction in max-
imum attainable tensile strain value due to coarser
structure of the weld with high heat input value. Cyclic load–displacement behavior of NiTinol
The reduction in tensile strength of the joint was Cyclic load–displacement behavior of NiTinol laser-
attributed to different factors including generation of welded samples was compared with that of the base
brittle intermetallic phases, precipitation of the inter- material for different constant strain values. Here, the
metallics on the grain boundaries during solidification initial position of the head was considered as the refer-
and the coarser grain structure of the weld and differ- ence point for measurement of displacement incremen-
ent kinds of welding defects including porosity.26,46 tally from the reference point. Most of the NiTinol’s
fatigue study was performed under constant strain con-
dition. The cyclic stress–strain behavior can be
Fracture surface analysis explained from uniaxial tensile stress–strain curve of
From the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image NiTinol. The stress was linearly increasing with strain
of the fractured surface of the tensile test specimens, it in the elastic region of the curve. After reaching the
Datta et al. 9

stress plateau, the strain value increased continuously

but the stress value became constant due to SIM for-
mation or detwinning mechanism of the martensite. As
a result of which stress became constant for a wide
range of strain. This makes constant stress-based con-
dition less visible than strain-based condition. Even
from the perception of experimental setup, strain-based
system requires less complicated equipment in compari-
son with stress-based system.
The graphs are presented in Figure 11. The constant
strain value was selected depending on the uniaxial ten-
sile test result. The constant strain values were varied
within the maximum strain that could be achieved
before the fracture of the laser-welded sample in simple
tension tests. The selected constant strain values are
2%, 4% and 6% for all the welded and base material.
Selected 2% strain level was below the stress plateau
for the parent samples as well as welded samples, but
4% and 6% strain levels were beyond the beginning of
stress plateau for all samples (refer Figure 9(a) and
(b)). For 2% strain, the curves, showing the cyclic load-
ing and unloading behavior, were very uniform as the
applied strain percent was very less. Though no signifi-
cant plastic deformation was obtained after each cycle,
the hysteresis loop was offset in the tensile direction,
Figure 10. SEM image of fractured surface of tensile test which signified elongation of the sample with a
samples: (a) base material; (b) laser-welded samples at 1400 W.

Figure 11. Cyclic load–displacement curves obtained at room temperature under constant strain tension–compression conditions
for NiTinol sheet.
10 Proc IMechE Part B: J Engineering Manufacture 00(0)

resultant permanent shape change of minimal value 5. Phase transformation temperature got reduced
after a number of tensile cycles. It is also clear that the after welding due to lattice dislocation through the
hysteresis loop became narrower after a number of deposition of various intermetallic phases which in
applied cycles than that of the initial cycles. Narrowing turn affected the microstructure of the welding and
of hysteresis loop and cyclic hardening could be attrib- would also increase the residual stress.
uted to accumulation of dislocations. From this obser- 6. The mechanical strength of the weld got reduced,
vation, it could be predicted that the microstructural and the mode of failure in uniaxial tensile test was
changes might occurred during tensile cycling. Due to converted from pure ductile mode of failure of
cyclic loading and unloading, the material was stress base material to mixed mode of failure for welded
hardened, as a result of which the maximum load at samples.
the maximum strain got increased with the increasing 7. Cyclic load-position confirmed that laser-welded
number of cycles. Though the stress hardening of the NiTinol samples were capable of withstanding
samples was increased at the faster rate in the initial considerable strain for the large number of cycles
cycles, the stress got increased in a slower rate after a though strain hardening took place.
significant number of cycles causing cyclic stabilization.
Even the positive loading condition versus negative Though laser welding affects the thermomechanical
loading conditions of the graphs showed a definite ani- property of NiTinol due to precipitation of different
sotropy in the cyclic loading behavior. The absolute intermetallic compounds on the grain boundaries and
value of load in positive loading condition is much lattice dislocation phenomena, laser-welded samples
higher than that of the negative loading condition. The showed useful mechanical performance for different
dissimilarity in positive and negative loading behavior practical applications where a high strain rate cyclic
of engineering materials is described as anisotropy. The load is applied for large number of cycles.
asymmetry in tension–compression behavior of
NiTinol could be attributed to the theory of phase Declaration of conflicting interests
transformation and crystal structure of different
phases. The martensite variety generated in tension The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest
must be different from those generated by compression. with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publi-
Due to these differences, plateau stress, shape recupera- cation of this article.
tion strain and critical shear stress became different.
Funding
Even it was clear from the graphs that the maximum
load-bearing capability at a constant attainable strain The author(s) received institute financial support for the
value in the positive direction was gradually reduced research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
with increase in laser heat input.
ORCID iDs
Susmita Datta https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3326-
Conclusion
0223
From this study of bead-on-plate laser welding of 2-mm Mohammad Shahid Raza https://orcid.org/0000-
thick NiTinol plate, the following conclusions could be 0003-4705-1713
drawn:
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