Powder Metallurgical Processing of NiTi Using Spark Plasma Sintering

Shape memory alloys were generally produced by casting but powder metallurgy has fast become an alternative method for producing shape memory alloys, specifically NiTi. Powder metallurgy became a popular method due to its ability to avoid the problems of segregation and excessive grain growth associated with casting and it allows for better control over the composition of NiTi alloy and can therefore control the transformation temperature and in turn the alloys unique shape memory and superelastic properties. Spark plasma sintering has emerged as the most efficient powder metallurgical method of melting binary and ternary NiTi.