Nowadays, additive manufacturing (AM) permits to realize complex metallic structural parts, and the use of NiTi alloy, known as Nitinol, allows the integration of specific functions to the AM products. One of the most promising designs for AM is concerning the use of lattice structures that show lightweight, higher than bulk material deformability, improved damping properties, high exchange surface. Moreover, lattice structures can be realized with struts, having dimensions below 1 mm—this is very attractive for the realization of Nitinol components for biomedical devices. In this light, the present work regarded the experimental characterization of lattice structures, produced by selective laser melting (SLM), by using Ni-rich NiTi alloy. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), and compression testing were carried out for analyzing microstructure, martensitic transformation (MT) evolution, and superelasticity response of the SLMed lattice samples. The lattice microstructures were compared with those of the SLMed bulk material for highlighting differences. Localized martensite was detected in the nodes zones, where the rapid solidification tends to accumulate solidification stresses. An increase of martensitic transformation temperatures was also observed in lattice NiTi.

This work is aimed at producing Al-matrix nanocomposites through the powder metallurgy (PM) process. An initial study on pure aluminum powder was performed to analyze the performance of different PM techniques. In particular, Al powder was refined via high-energy ball milling and consolidated by hot extrusion and equal channel angular pressing. The latter revealed to be a very efficient procedure for powder compaction (high density and hardness of the products) and it was adopted for the production of Al-based composites reinforced with 2% and 5 wt% of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles. The composites exhibited higher hardness than the pure aluminum sample.

Nitinol has significant potential for biomedical and actuating-sensing devices, thanks to its functional properties. The use of selective laser melting (SLM) with Nitinol powder can promote novel applications aimed to produce 3D complex parts with integrated functional performances. As the final step of the production route, finishing processing needs to be investigated both for the optimization of the surface morphology and the limit alteration of the Nitinol functional properties. In this work, the effect of an advanced method of surface modification, ultrasonic nanocrystal surface modification (UNSM), on the martensitic transformation and microstructure of SLM built Ni50.8Ti49.2 (at.%) was investigated. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry indicated that the UNSM process can generate stress-induced martensite, at least partially suppressing the martensitic transformation. The microhardness profile indicates that the UNSM process can affect the mechanical properties of the SLMed Nitinol sample in a range of up to approximately 750 μm in depth from the upper surface, while electron backscatter diffraction analysis highlighted that the initial austenitic phase was modified within a depth below 200 μm from the UNSMed surface.