Achieving superelasticity in additively manufactured Ni-lean NiTi by crystallographic design

Superelastic metallic materials possessing large recoverable strains are widely used in automotive, aerospace and energy conversion industries. Superelastic materials working at high temperatures and with a wide temperature range are increasingly required for demanding applications. Until recently, high-temperature superelasticity has only been achievable with multicomponent alloys fabricated by complex processes. In this study, a novel framework of multi-scale models enabling texture and microstructure design is proposed for high-performance NiTi fabrication via laser powder bed fusion. Based on the developed framework, a Ni-lean Ni(49.4 at.%)-Ti alloy is, for the first time, endowed with a 4% high-temperature compressive superelasticity. A 001 texture, unfavorable for plastic slip, is created to realize enhanced functionality. The unprecedented superelasticity can be maintained up to 453 K, which is comparable with but has a wider superelastic temperature range (∼110 K) than rare earth alloyed NiTi alloys, previously only realizable with grain refinement, and other complicated post-processing operations. At the same time, its shape memory stability is also improved due to existing textured 100 martensite and intergranular precipitation of Ti₂NiOx. This discovery reframes the way that we design superior performance NiTi based alloys through directly tailoring crystallographic orientations during additive manufacturing.